Fire and Water
by keihra93
Summary: After the death of her father, the life Rui Imari had led as a child in Musutafu came to an end. But now, ten years later, she returns to her hometown & begins a work study at U.A. High & finds herself reunited with some old friends. They begin to rebuild their friendship, but will things ever be the same again between her & the ambitious, hot headed Katsuki Bakugo? Some spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

It was just another day at U.A. High and Shota Aizawa, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A, had just finished informing the students about their final exams. They were wrapping up lessons for the period when a knock came at the door and a young woman stepped into the classroom.

"Forgive the intrusion, sir, but Principal Nezu asked that I bring this to you."

"Ah, thank you." Shota looked over the pile of documents for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the young woman. "How are you settling in, Rui? Have you been given a tour of the school yet?"

"Oh, yes, sir. It's such a large campus, so I got lost a few times, but I found my way OK."

"Good."

While Shota conversed with this Rui girl, Class 1-A murmured among themselves as they wondered who she was and what her relationship with their teacher was. Hearing some of the murmuring, Shota turned to his class.

"This is Rui Imari. Not only will she be participating in a work study under Recovery Girl as part of her home schooling program, but she also happens to be my niece. I expect you all to be respectful."

"Whoa, she's your niece?"

"I didn't know you had any siblings."

As the rest of his classmates talked among themselves and processed the new information, Katsuki Bakugo lounged in his seat as usual and looked over this Rui Imari. 'She looks familiar...'

She was about their age, a bit short like most of the girls in the class, wore a simple white bolero jacket over a pine green sundress with matching flats, and she had long and wavy light turquoise hair that darkened at the tips. She had vivid sky blue eyes that sparkled in the daylight as the sun shone through the window. She seemed nervous being around so many people, too, but was otherwise willing to answer people's questions.

'So she's an emitter type, huh?' he thought to himself as Rui explained how her Water Manipulation quirk worked. 'I wonder if she can fight.'

Katsuki continued to watch her, noting that she wasn't nearly as socially awkward as he first thought. When she caught him looking at her, her cheeks flushed a bit and she tucked her hair behind her ear as she smiled at him- which caught him off guard. He found himself blushing for some reason and looked away when Shota shifted his gaze towards him with a protective look in his eyes- hoping he looked away in time. 'There's no way she's related to Mr. Aizawa; she's too cute.'

"Alright, that's enough questions. Rui needs to return to her duties and you still have a few more things to review before the end of class." Shota said, then turned to Rui. "You should go. I'll see you later at dinner."

"Mom says 6pm and don't be late." Rui replied, offering her uncle a smile before she bowed to him, then to the class and hurried off.

* * *

The next few periods went by quickly and it was finally lunch time. Rui was relieved to have a break, her morning having been rather busy after returning to the infirmary. She heard someone call out to her and turned to find some of the students from Class 1-A waving to her as they approached.

"Hey, Imari, how's it going?"

"You settling in OK?"

Rui offered them a smile. "You can call me 'Rui'. It's been busy, but I like it. I think I'll do just fine with my work study. I was pretty nervous about it at first, but I couldn't ask for a better mentor than Recovery Girl."

"Wanna come sit with us?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

"R-Rui..?"

Rui stopped, hearing a familiar voice and turned- finding another childhood friend standing there in disbelief at the sight of her. "Izuku?"

"It is you!"

"Izuku!"

Izuku Midoriya and Rui hugged, smiling and laughing- clearly happy to see each other.

"You know her, Midoriya?"

"Rui and I grew up together as children." Izuku explained, sniffling a bit.

"After my dad died, my mom moved us away and pulled me out of public school. She's been homeschooling me ever since and only agreed to let me come to U.A. for my work study because of Uncle Shota."

Izuku looked at her, confused. "Wait, Shota as in Shota Aizawa? Our homeroom teacher?"

Rui nodded. "Yup. Uncle Shota is my mother's brother."

"Whoah, I had no idea!" Izuku chuckled.

Rui smiled, her cheeks blushing a bit. "Ya, Uncle Shota isn't too fond of the media or press, so he keeps his work as low profile as possible. Mom told me not to go bragging about it too much, so I never really talked about it."

"I totally get it, but wow! That's so cool!"

"What about you?" Rui asked as she and the others got in line for food. "How did you end up at U.A.? I thought you didn't have a quirk."

Izuku chuckled nervously. "I was a late bloomer. I got my quirk before taking the entrance exam for U.A. and I managed to pass."

"That's wonderful, Izuku!" Rui beamed at him. "I remember how devastated you were to learn you wouldn't ever get your own quirk. Way to stick it to that doctor! He clearly didn't know what he was talking about."

"R-Right." Izuku took a tray. "Wait, Rui, have you seen Kacchan? Does he know you're here?"

Rui sighed and her face fell a bit. "I stopped by Class 1-A's room this morning to drop something off for Uncle Shota, but Katsuki didn't seem to recognize me. I shouldn't be too surprised, though, it's been like ten years since I last saw you guys."

"True... you should still say hi. He hasn't changed much since we were kids."

"So he's still an ambitious hot head?"

"Hehe, ya."

"So you're in Class 1-A, too, huh?" Rui asked. "Why weren't you there this morning?"

"I was coming back from the infirmary. Again." Izuku chuckled nervously. "We must have just missed each other."

"I see. Well, if you're not more careful, you might just become my new favorite patient." Rui joked.

Rui and the others finally got their food and found their way to an open table. They sat and talked, getting to know each other or reconnect after years apart, and Rui felt all of her worries melting away.

Across the way a bit, Katsuki sat watching Rui and Izuku as they sat together. He noticed some key things about how they interacted that validated his memories more and more and soon enough, he was certain it was her. Rui Imari was the same girl that he and Izuku had grown up with as little kids.

"Seems like Imari and Midoriya know each other." Eijiro Kirishima said as he sat with Katsuki and Denki Kaminari. "Do you know her?"

"Just because that damn nerd knows someone doesn't mean I do." Katsuki barked, glaring at Eijiro for a moment before his gaze shifted back to Rui and Izuku. "But, ya, I knew her."

"What's she like?"

"Hell if I know. I haven't seen her in ten years."

Eijiro sensed that he may have hit a nerve and backed off on the questions, looking to Denki only to be met with a shrug. They watched as Katsuki got up and left, putting away his empty tray before heading outside.

As Katsuki walked outside to find a spot where he could think in silence, he wondered why all of these feelings and thoughts were swirling up inside of him. 'It's been years since we last saw her, so why? Why does seeing her again make me feel like this?'


	2. Chapter 2

Rui had settled into her new schedule with a lot more ease than she thought she would. Recovery Girl kept her busy, but made sure that she wasn't overworked as well. Rui did also still have homework that she needed to be doing in her free time- her mother, Isane, wanting to make sure that she kept up with her studies while away from home- so she was grateful to have some down time between training sessions.

With final exams getting closer and closer, the training sessions would become much more intense. The students wouldn't find out what their final exam would entail and neither would Rui, but Recovery Girl wanted to make extra sure that Rui would be as prepared as she could be to jump right into action. After all, the students would be facing off against their teachers as they played the villains and they would not be holding back. And by the end of her first day, Rui was beginning to realize that she wouldn't have much time to herself between her work study and her homework. She was worn out, but she was grateful that she had such a fantastic start to her work study.

As Rui left the infirmary and started making her way out of the school at the end of her shift, she thought back on the events of the day.

For years, she had wanted to go back to public school- or at least a private school like U.A.- but her mother had basically freaked out and shut down when her father had died. She was home schooled until she reached the point in her education that she needed to do a work study, which was about the time that Shota stepped in and convinced Isane to let Rui come to U.A. for her work study with the promise that he would keep an eye on her and make sure she stayed safe. Isane eventually relented and agreed, even going so far as to rent a small apartment close to Shota's residence where she could stay for the duration of her work study.

Because of her home schooling, Rui was more or less shut away from the word- especially the hero aspect of it. Since her father had died while fighting a villain, Isane wanted nothing to do with the hero business. With that restriction, Rui missed out on all of the big news reports and event broadcasts. She had no idea that Katsuki or Izuku had passed the entrance exams and made it into U.A. She was so surprised to see them both and she couldn't help but be thrilled for their success- especially Izuku since he hadn't had a quirk for the longest time. But while Izuku had recognized her, she wasn't sure that Katsuki had and for some reason, that saddened Rui a lot more than she thought it would.

Sighing, Rui stopped along the walkway and looked back up at the main U.A. building. 'Well, this wasn't how I imagined coming here, but I'm glad I did.'

"Hey."

Rui jumped a bit and turned to find Katsuki standing behind her. "Phew, you scared me. You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that." She watched his gaze go up and down her figure, as though he was scrutinizing her. "Can I help you with something?"

"At first, I didn't think it was you, but after seeing you with Deku, I know it is." Katsuki grumbled, his eyes narrowed a bit. "Why are you here?"

Rui felt herself blushing and uneasy under his analytic gaze. "I'm here for work study as part of my home schooling requirements."

"You can't just show up here out of the blue. Not after all these years."

Rui sighed, unsure of where the conversation was going. "What do you want me to say, Katsuki? I didn't know you and Izuku made it into U.A. and I wouldn't have had a way to know, not with as over protective as my mother is. She wouldn't let me write or call you or Izuku; she barely even talked to Uncle Shota after Dad died." Rui looked away. "Mom lost it after Dad died... she didn't want me to have anything to do with the hero business..."

Katsuki watched her a moment, trying to understand. He had been so angry and hurt when she left out of nowhere, barely uttering a goodbye before she disappeared from his life. Seeing her again like this just brought it all right back up to the surface, while adding a few new emotions on top of it all.

"I'm sorry I couldn't call or write... I really wanted to, but I couldn't bring myself to go against Mom's wishes... not after we had just lost Dad..."

Katsuki held her gaze when she looked up at him and tried to offer him a smile as she continued their conversation, but he knew there was a pain and regret behind it. 'Why does she always have a smile on her face..? Even when she's sad..?'

Rui glanced back at the main U.A. building, tucking her hair behind her ear as a gentle breeze blew threw the campus. "I am glad to be back, regardless of what's happened. I have so many good memories of this town." She turned her gaze back to Katsuki. "And I'm so happy for you, Katsuki. You and Izuku both."

Katsuki was taken a bit aback in that moment, a lot of other memories resurfacing as they stood there staring at each other for what seemed like hours.

"I should go." Rui noted, breaking the silence between them. "Mom is coming over for dinner with Uncle Shota, so I don't want to be late and worry her even more." She started walking passed Katsuki, stopping only for moment to add, "It really is good to see you again, Katsuki. I've missed you."

Katsuki watched Rui hurry on her way, the cool breeze bringing the burning sensation in his cheeks to his attention. He stood there even after she had disappeared from his view and he wondered again what it was about seeing Rui again after so long that was making him feel the way he was feeling.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day at lunch, Rui stood in line with Izuku and his friends- grateful to have a break from working and her homework.

"So how is your work study going?"

"Recovery Girl has been keeping me busy, plus Mom still gave me homework for while I'm here so that I don't fall behind on my studies, but other than that? It's been great so far." Rui replied, then raised her hand to wave at Katsuki as he passed by.

Izuku watched her face fall as Katsuki rolled his eyes and turned away from her, his heart sinking a bit. "Rui..."

Rui knew Katsuki was still upset and she couldn't blame him. They had always butted heads as children, Rui playing the protector role whenever Katsuki acted like a bully, but they had been close once and she hadn't really been able to say goodbye. Her moving away had been so sudden and not being able to call or write didn't do their friendship any favors.

"It's fine, Izuku..." Rui sighed and offered him a smile as they moved forward in line. "It's been ten years. I can't expect things to be the same after all this time."

Izuku looked over towards where Katsuki had sat down with Eijiro and Denki. "That may be true, but he doesn't have to be such a jerk about it." Izuku returned his attention back to Rui. "You guys butted heads a lot when we were kids, but you were pretty close. That has to count for something."

"I would hope so, but you know Katsuki. Always the stubborn one." Rui chanced a glance at Katsuki as they waited to grab their trays. 'I do hope he won't be mad at me like this forever, though...'

Across the cafeteria, Katsuki sat with Eijiro and Denki as usual- brooding as he watched Rui and Izuku talking.

'How can they just act like nothing ever happened? And why does it make me so angry?'

Eijiro and Denki exchanged glances before hesitantly asking Katsuki about Rui again.

"So, Bakugo, what is it with you and that Rui chick?"

"None of your damn business."

"Come on, man, I've never seen that look before she came around. What happened between you two?"

"I said it's none of your damn business!"

Eijiro and Denki flinched a bit at his tone, but backed off with their questions.

"Sheesh, alright!"

Katsuki scooted back in his chair and stormed off, similarly to the day before.

"Guess we touched a nerve."

Izuku noticed Katsuki leaving in a hurry and told Rui and the others he'd be right back before following after him. He made his way to the courtyard and called out to Katsuki.

"What do you want, you damn nerd?"

"Is... everything alright? You're not acting like yourself."

"What the hell would you know about it?"

Izuku flinched at his tone, but it was nothing new to him. "Is it because of Rui? Why are you so mad at her?"

"It's none of your damn business, so just shut the hell up!"

Izuku's fists clenched, but he stood his ground for a moment longer. "I know it's been a long time since we last saw her, but you can't be mad at her for what happened. Sure, she could have called or at least written to us, but I understand why she couldn't."

Katsuki glared at him for a few seconds. "Tch, whatever." He started walking away from him.

"Kacchan, Rui wants to be friends again. With both of us. But she can't do that if you won't let her."

Katsuki ignored him and went off to find somewhere quiet where he could think- alone. He found a tree with some nice shade and lay beneath the thick branches, his arm behind his head. Watching the clouds mosey along as thin wisps in the sky, Katsuki thought back on what Izuku said.

'Of course she wants to be friends again, that's just how she is.'

As he lay there, he started thinking back on the first time they had met as children.

* * *

_"Kacchan, wait up!"_

_"You're such a slowpoke, Deku!"_

_Izuku chased after Katsuki, just as he always did, but as he tried to catch up to Katsuki and the other kids, he tripped and landed in the rocky dirt- skinning his knee._

_"Ow...!"_

_Katsuki and the other kids laughed at him._

_"You're a real klutz, you know that?" Katsuki pointed at him. "Deku the Quirkless Wonder can't even walk or run without tripping over himsefl! What a loser!"_

_"Ya, what a loser!"_

_Izuku tried to push himself to his feet, but Katsuki just pushed him back. "Kacchan, why are you being so mean?"_

_"Stupid Deku going to cry?"_

_"Leave him alone!"_

_Katsuki looked over to find a young girl about their age with blue hair pulled back in pigtails glaring at him. "What are you going to do about it? You're just a stupid girl!"_

_"Don't call me stupid!"_

_"Or what? You going to go crying to mommy and tell on me like a stupid little crybaby?" Katsuki's eyes widened as water started to surround the girl. "What the-"_

_The girl shot her water at him, knocking him back into the soft grass and drenching him to the skin. "I said don't call me stupid!"_

_Katsuki sputtered and sat up, wiping the water from his eyes. He glared at the girl as she sat in front of Izuku and pulled off her backpack. He watched as she took out what looked like a first aid kit and started cleaning his knee. He heard her introduce herself as Rui and listened as she talked with Izuku for a few minutes before helping him to his feet. He stood and squeezed out the water in his shirt as best as he could before Rui stormed over with Izuku's hand in hers._

_"Apologize."_

_Katsuki glared at her. "For what?"_

_Rui glared right back and stood just inches from him, staring up at him with a very determined look in those sky blue eyes. "For pushing him."_

_Katsuki found himself blushing and stammered an apology to Izuku._

_"Good, now apologize for calling me stupid."_

_"S-Sorry..."_

_Rui stepped back and offered him a smile. "Good, now we can be friends!"_

* * *

Lunch period was at an end and Rui was heading back to the infirmary when she spotted Katsuki laying in the shade of a large tree.

'Is he sleeping?'

Rui made her way towards him, sighing with a soft smile when she found that he was in fact sleeping in the shade. She knelt down and gently touched his hand where it rested on his stomach. "Katsuki? You need to wake up."

"Mmm?" Katsuki stirred and found Rui kneeling beside him. "What do you want?"

"Lunch period is over, you need to hurry to your next class or you're going to be late."

Katsuki sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Damn it, I must have passed out."

"You must have needed the sleep." Rui commented, then looked up at the sky. "But, I can see why you felt so relaxed. It's a beautiful and calm view."

Katsuki glanced at her. "You should get going before you're late."

Rui looked back at him as he stood, surprised when he offered her his hand. "Oh, thank you." She took his hand and let him pull her up. A gentle breeze made its way through the trees, a parade of leaves dancing along with it.

Katsuki reached up to pull a leaf out of Rui's hair, not even thinking twice about it. When he looked down and met her gaze, he noticed her cheeks were a bit flushed. "S-Sorry."

Rui ignored the warmth at her cheeks and smiled. "It's alright, I don't mind."

The final warning bell sounded and they looked back towards the school.

"We should hurry."

They walked back towards the school, parting ways in the hallway.

"I'll see you later, Katsuki." Rui said, heading towards the infirmary.

Katsuki grabbed her hand and stopped her for a moment. "Wait."

Rui's cheeks flushed again when she saw a new look in his eyes. "W-What is it?"

"Thanks for waking me up."

Rui offered him a smile and squeezed his hand gently. "Of course."

As a nearby teacher cleared their throats and sent them on their way, Katsuki glanced back to find Rui waving at him with a smile before she disappeared down the hall towards the infirmary.

He sighed and shook his head before hurrying to reach the classroom before the bell rang.

'You haven't changed, Rui.'


	4. Chapter 4

"Excellent work today, Rui, my dear."

Rui stretched in her chair as she leaned back from her desk, having just finished her paperwork and homework for the day. "Thanks, Recovery Girl. I really do appreciate you taking me on for a work study."

"Why don't you head on home now?"

"Are you sure? There's still a few more things to do."

Recovery Girl, aka Chiyo Shuzenji, nodded and shooed her out of her desk. "Go have some fun with your friends." She smiled as Rui gathered her things and hung her uniform- a simple medical overcoat. "I'll see you tomorrow. Stay safe on your way home."

Rui returned her smile and waved before hurrying out the door, knowing full well by this point that Chiyo would just shoo her out through the door as well. She hummed to herself as she made her way down the halls and towards the entrance of the main building.

"Hey, Rui!"

Rui looked up as the students started filing out of the building, their classes done for the day, and found the group of girls from Class 1-A waving her over.

"Wanna hang out?" Mina Ashido asked, beaming at her.

"We're going shopping!" Toru Hagakure added.

Rui chuckled, knowing that Toru was grinning from cheek to cheek- even if she couldn't see it. "I'd love to. What time were you guys thinking?" As Mina and the others discussed the details, she noticed Katsuki and a few of his male classmates walking towards them. When she met his gaze, she found herself blushing a bit and offered him a nervous smile and a sheepish wave- unsure if he would accept it.

Down the hall, Katsuki walked with Eijiro, Denki, Minoru Mineta, and a few other of his fellow male classmates as they headed towards the entrance of the main building. While the others were talking, Katsuki noticed Rui standing with Mina, Toru, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Ochaco Uraraka. His eyes narrowed and he quickly looked away when Rui offered him a smile and a wave- trying to ignore how cute she looked doing that.

"Yo, Bakugo, you alright man? You've been really grumpy lately. Like more than normal."

"I'm fine."

"It's that Rui Imari girl, right?" Minoru chided, nudging Katsuki with his elbow. "Don't know why you're so mad around her, I mean look at her! She's such a babe! She might not have massive boobs like Yaoyorozu, but she has plenty of curves in all the right places. Maybe during the next training session I'll 'twist' my ankle or something and take a trip to the infirmary. I'd let her heal me any day."

That comment touched a nerve and Katsuki dropped his book bag onto the top of Minoru's head.

"Ow!"

While Minoru whimpered about his punishment, Katsuki stormed off and headed straight towards Rui.

"So meet up at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall in an hour?" Ochaco asked.

"That'd be perfect."

"Hey."

Rui looked up at Katsuki as he joined them. "What's up?"

"I'm walking you home. Let's go."

"O-Oh, sure." Rui looked at the girls, who shrugged. "Let's exchange numbers real quick so we can let each other know if anything changes."

Katsuki waited patiently for her while keeping an eye on where Minoru was. 'That damn dirty pervert... He really needs to keep comments like that to himself, especially about Rui.'

"Katsuki?"

He looked down at Rui. "You ready?"

Rui nodded, still confused why he would want to walk her home all of a sudden.

"Then let's go."

Rui waved to Mina and the others before hurrying after Katsuki and falling into step next to him.

They walked in silence for a while before Rui worked up the courage to speak first and ask why he decided to walk her home.

"Hey, Katsuki?"

"Hmm?"

"Not that I mind or anything, but why did you want to walk me home all of a sudden?" Rui shifted her gaze from him to the road ahead. "You've been pretty angry with me since I got here, so it was a little surprising."

Katsuki was a bit taken aback by her question, but he couldn't blame her for asking. He sighed and avoided her gaze as she glanced back at him. "Just felt like it." He tried to hide his blushing when the actual reason popped into his head. He was not about to tell her it was because Minoru made a few too many comments on her level of attractiveness and how he didn't like other guys talking about her like that.

"Well, in any case, I appreciate the company."

The awkward silence returned for a few minutes and they turned down the street that led to Rui's apartment.

"So..."

Rui looked up at Katsuki when he broke the silence. "Yes?"

"You're going to the mall, too?"

"Are you coming?"

Katsuki was surprised by her excitement and nodded. "Yeah. I need to get a few things anyway, so might as well."

Rui smiled at him. "Well, we're almost there." She pointed towards her apartment building.

"This is where you live?" Katsuki looked up at the building. 'It's so similar to Deku's place.'

"Well, temporarily at least. Mom rented out an apartment for me while I'm in town for the work study." She tilted her head to the side a bit and asked, "Where do you live, Katsuki?"

Katsuki turned and pointed to the house directly across from her building. "Right there."

"What? No way! That's awesome!" Rui beamed. "Now that I know that, I can walk to and from school with you!"

"I haven't seen you on my way there."

"I had to get up super early the last couple of days, but I don't have to again any time soon."

Katsuki tried to ignore how adorable Rui looked pushing her finger tips together hesitantly as she asked if it'd be alright to walk with him in the mornings and afternoons. "Sure, whatever. Doesn't mean we're going to talk the whole way, though."

"Katsuki? Is that you, sweetie?"

Katsuki groaned, hearing his mother's voice calling out to him. "Yeah, Mom, it's me."

His mother, Mitsuki, came out of their front yard. "Who's your friend?" She stopped dead in her tracks, recognizing Rui. "Well, I'll be, it's little Rui all grown up!"

Rui offered her a smile and bow. "It's wonderful to see you again, Mrs. Bakugo."

"Oh, please, dear, you can just call me 'Mitsuki'." Mitsuki hugged Rui and smiled. "It's been far too long, Rui, but it's good to see you."

"It's good to be back."

"So, what are you back in town for?"

"She's doing a work study with Recovery Girl."

"Oh, that's great! How do you like it?"

Katsuki groaned and watched as Mitsuki started steering Rui towards their house, inviting her in for tea while they got caught up. As he trailed behind them, though, he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

After nearly a half hour, Rui had to excuse herself to run home and change before they left to meet up with the others. While waiting for her, Katsuki helped clear away the dishes.

"So, Rui's back."

"Mhmm."

"How do you feel about it?"

Katsuki sighed as he washed the cups. "It's fine, I guess."

Mitsuki listened as her son explained that he had mixed feelings about her coming back to Musutafu. "You should give her a chance, Katsuki. You and Rui used to be close and it seems like she really wants to rekindle that friendship with you."

"Whatever."

Mitsuki watched him a moment. "You should go get ready, I'll finish up here."

Katsuki set down the sponge and headed upstairs to change- and to cool off. He hopped in the shower, letting the cold water rush over his burning skin, then changed into a simple pair of jeans and a tee. As he dried his hair and looked in the mirror, he sighed.

'Damn it... Why does she have to go acting like nothing happened? And where does Mineta get off making comments like that?'

Tossing the towel off to the side, he headed back downstairs and slipped on his shoes before his mother waved him off and he went out to the street.

"Hey, you ready?"

Katsuki looked over as Rui joined him, dressed in a soft pastel pink blouse with a teal skirt and flats- her long, braided hair resting over her shoulder as she readjusted her purse strap. He was not expecting her to look so good in such a simple outfit.

"Let's go."

Rui followed after him as he took the lead, falling in step with him and noticing that he seemed to be a bit flushed. "You alright, Katsuki? Your face is a bit red."

"I'm fine."

"If you say so."

Katsuki just kept his focus on the path ahead of them, trying to force the blush in his cheeks away. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it..!'


	5. Chapter 5

Katsuki and Rui sat side by side on the bus, watching the city scenery fly by. Katsuki watched Rui's face fill with excitement as she reminisced about her childhood in Musutafu.

"You really missed this place."

Rui looked at him and blushed, nodding. "Where we moved to after Dad died never really felt like home. Musutafu held so much for me, even as a child. I've always wanted to come back."

Katsuki watched her for a moment, wondering what else was going on in her head. But before he could say anything more, they had reached their stop and disembarked the bus. As he stepped off the last step behind Rui, the rest of his class was already waiting and greeted them with enthusiasm.

"You ready?"

"Meet back at the fountain in one hour?"

"Sounds good."

"Let's get shopping!"

Mina grabbed Rui's hand and pulled her along as she and the other girls went off together, leaving Katsuki to tag along with some of the other guys- Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta Sero being among them.

* * *

"So, Rui."

"Hmm?" Rui peeked out over the top of the changing stall door at Mina as she leaned against hers.

"What's up with you and Bakugo?"

"What do you mean?"

Rui and the girls had gone into a clothing store and were trying on new outfits.

"You guys knew each other right? Before coming to U.A.?"

"Yeah, we knew each other as kids. We used to play together, with Izuku, too."

"You seem... sad." Ochaco noted. "Did something happen?"

Rui sighed. "When we moved away, Mom wouldn't let me call or write to Izuku or to Katsuki. She wanted to keep the hero business as far away from us as possible after Dad died. As much as I wanted to disobey her and at least tell them I was OK, I couldn't bring myself to do it. She was just so sad and lost when Dad died."

"Aww, you're such a good daughter."

"I try my best." Rui offered a smile, but there was a sadness lingering behind it.

"So, if your mom was so against the hero business, why did she agree to let you do a work study at a hero school?" Tsuyu Asui asked.

"I have Uncle Shota to thank for that." Rui chuckled. "Mom had to relent once he promised that he would make sure I was safe at U.A. where he could keep an eye on me."

"You're so lucky to have Mr. Aizawa in your family." Momo said.

Rui smiled at that. "You're lucky to have him for a teacher. I know he can be a bit of a hard ass at times, but he really does mean well." Her smile faded and she looked in the mirror hanging on the side of the stall. "As far as Katsuki goes, though, I don't know. I understand that he's still upset with how things happened back then, but I want to try and rebuild what we had. Even if it's a little bit."

The girls all looked at each other, a smirk growing on each of their faces. Rui noticed this and looked at them, confused.

"What?"

"You like him, don't you?"

Rui's cheeks began to burn and she looked away. "N-No..?"

"You do!"

"Maybe..? I don't know. I used to have a crush on him when I was a kid, but it was just a simple playground crush." She stepped out of the stall and looked down at the outfit she had chosen to try on- a watermelon pink dress with white lacy accents and short bell sleeves. "How does this look?"

"Wow, that looks super cute!"

Rui blushed. "Thanks."

"Are you worried that he might not like you back?" Mina wondered.

"Honestly, I'm more worried that we can't ever be friends again. I can't imagine what he must have been feeling when I left."

"Oo, Rui, try the purple one next!"

* * *

Katsuki sat with Eijiro and the others while they waited for the girls to rejoin them. He lounged against the back of the bench and stared up at the sky, drowning out the hustle and bustle of the crowded mall.

'Sheesh... why did I even agree to go? I could've gotten what I needed anywhere else.' he wondered, unaware that Rui and the other girls had rejoined them. 'This is so lame.'

"Katsuki? You alright?"

Katsuki was pulled from his thoughts and found Rui standing in front of him. "I'm fine."

"It's not often you get lost in your thoughts." Eijiro commented, chuckling a bit.

"Shut up." Katsuki groaned and stood. "Are we done here?"

"Anybody hungry?"

"Yeah, let's get something to eat!"

"Sure, I'm up for it! Rui?"

Katsuki looked at Rui as she agreed before turning to him and asking if he wanted to stay for a bite as well. "Fine." he answered, finding himself unable to say no when she had such a hopeful look in her eyes. He sighed, but seeing her smile like that made putting up with his classmates a little bit longer worth it.

"So, what are we feeling like?"

* * *

Having chosen to go to a local diner and have a fairly simple meal, Rui and Class 1-A- or at least those of Class 1-A that stayed- enjoyed the rest of their night together before going their separate ways and heading back home.

Rui and Katsuki took the bus back, then walked the rest of the way home. Katsuki walked Rui to her building, bidding her a good night before heading across the street to his house.

"Mom, I'm home." Katsuki announced as he slipped off his shoes.

"Did you have fun?" Mitsuki called from the living room.

"It was fine."

From her seat on the couch, Mitsuki rolled her eyes but smiled- the tone in Katsuki's voice giving him away. "Have you eaten yet? I can make something if you're hungry."

"I ate earlier." Katsuki started up the stairs. "I'm going to my room."

"OK, well don't forget to do your homework, alright?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Katsuki lay back on his bed, the closed door of his room providing him the privacy and quiet that he needed at the moment. He sighed as he stared up at his ceiling, thinking back on the events of the day.

The more time he spent with Rui, the less angry at her he was feeling. He could see that she really wanted to make amends and try to be friends again- and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted that, too. But he wondered if his feelings about her would get in the way of that.

'Damn it...'

Across the street, Rui was changing into a nightgown and getting settled into her nightly routine when her phone rang.

"Hi, Uncle Shota, what's up?"

"_Just wanted to check in and make sure you got home alright. I heard you went to the mall with my class today after school._"

"I was surprised that they invited me at first, but I was happy to accept. It was really fun and we even got dinner afterwards."

"_I'm glad to see you're making friends. Hopefully this time, you'll be able to stay in touch with them._"

Rui sighed. "I hope so, too. Especially with Izuku and Katsuki. I don't want to rebuild our friendships only to have it taken away again."

"_You really care about them, don't you?_"

"They were the only friends I had before Mom moved us away. She never let me talk to anyone else."

"_I wish things would have been different after your father died, but I'm relieved to see Isane taking steps to let you live your own life and not be so protective._"

"Yeah, me, too. She's even been smiling more often."

"_That's good to hear. Anyway, I have some papers to grade and I'm sure you have homework to finish, so I'll let you go._"

"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow, Uncle Shota. Good night."

"_Good night, Rui. See you tomorrow._"

Rui ended the call and smiled, reminded of what Momo said. 'I really am lucky to have an uncle like him.'


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a busy next few days and Katsuki hadn't seen much of Rui. He barely saw her at lunch and even then it was a short greeting in passing as she grabbed her lunch and headed straight back to the infirmary. And having the entire student body to worry about, he couldn't blame her for being so preoccupied. He was surprised, however, to how much he looked forward to walking home with her after school let out.

"Has anyone talked to Rui lately?" he heard Eijiro ask as they sat in the cafeteria.

"No, she's been swamped lately." Denki noted. "I heard she had a dozen patients to look after yesterday from two different classes."

Katsuki barely listened into their conversation, being lost in his own thoughts. When students from other classes chimed in on the conversation, he excused himself and went to find a quiet place to think.

As he walked towards the large tree in the courtyard- having grown rather fond of the spot- he noticed someone else was already there. Someone with blue hair.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he reached the tree, but no answer came. He looked down and saw that Rui was passed out as she leaned back against the tree.

'She must be exhausted.'

He sat down next to her and leaned back against the tree, looking at the clouds as they drifted by.

'Looks like it'll rain later.'

He felt a sudden weight at his shoulder and glanced down to see Rui's head resting against him. He watched her a moment, wondering if he should wake her or not, and noticed how peaceful she looked sleeping. He checked the time and saw they still had about half an hour before end of lunch period, so he let her rest there.

As they sat there, Katsuki found himself reminiscing again about their childhood and the good times they had shared. He had always admired her courage and her strength, her willingness to stand up for those around her. He had always thought she was a kind and caring person. He may have acted like a brat towards her when she put him in his place, but it was more for show than anything. He was the cool kid, so to speak, so he was keen on keeping up appearances.

After a while, Rui stirred and found Katsuki sitting next to her. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before yawning.

"Katsuki? How long have you been here?"

"Not long. You were asleep when I came over."

"Everything OK?"

"I should be asking you that. You looked pretty worn out when I found you."

Rui sighed. "It's been really busy the last few days. I honestly can't wait for the weekend."

"It is the last day of classes for the week."

"I know and believe me, it's a relief after the influx of patients lately. Your training sessions must be intense for so many of you students to be coming into the infirmary. Recovery Girl says it's not normally this busy but that it's good practice if I want to become a doctor."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Rui looked up at the sky. "Dad was a hero, but he was more front lines like the other big shots. With a quirk like mine, I could easily follow in his footsteps."

"But?"

"You know I've never been much of a fighter." Rui blushed and fiddled with her hair, nervously. "I was always the one to rush in and patch everyone up. It's what I've always been good at."

"Isn't that why you're doing your work study with Recovery Girl?"

"Yeah. I wanted to learn more about the healing applications of my quirk. I mean, I can fight if it comes down to it and I still train for combat just in case, but I would much rather provide support and be a healer than a fighter." Rui laughed nervously. "I guess that sounds pretty silly to you, though, huh? You're always right there, in the middle of the action."

Katsuki felt a slight pang of guilt at her comment. "No, it's not silly. It sounds like the perfect goal for you."

Rui looked up at him, eyes wide with mild shock. "Really?"

Katsuki smirked and nodded. "Really."

Behind them, the bell tolled to signal the end of lunch period. Katsuki stood and offered Rui a hand up. "We should get going."

Rui took his hand, but tripped over herself a bit and fell forward- Katsuki catching her.

"You alright?" Katsuki asked as he steadied her.

"I'm f-fine." Rui stepped back and offered him a quick smile. "Thanks."

Katsuki watched her quickly gather up her things before hurrying off, a rushed goodbye as she left. 'What was that all about?' Shrugging it off, he made his way back to class and wondered if he'd see her again after school.

As she made her way back to the infirmary, Rui tried desperately to calm her nerves and get the burning in her cheeks to stop. She slipped into the infirmary and shut the door, groaning slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh my, what's this?"

Rui squeaked with surprise as Chiyo stepped out from behind one of the partitions with a coy smile. "W-What are you talking about?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a rather high fever." Chiyo chuckled. "What's his name?"

"I-I don't know what you mean!" Rui tried to busy herself with getting ready for the next period, knowing there would be more students potentially coming in.

"Sure, and I'm the Empress of Japan."

Chiyo's teasing made Rui's blushing worse and she sighed. "It's someone I used to know very well."

"Tell me more about him."

"He has always been a rather crude, arrogant, short-tempered, and aggressive kind of person. He's ambitious, hot-headed, and stubborn, too. But beneath all of that, he's got a good heart and does what he can to prove his strength- not just for everyone else, but also for himself. He strives to do better and always pushes himself to reach that next level. Sometimes he can go overboard, but he always knows when it's time to back off. Well, most of the time at least."

"He sounds like a real handful."

"I can only imagine what his parents have to deal with." Rui smiled, knowing Mitsuki would kick Katsuki's ass if he ever stepped out of line around her.

"And have you told him how you feel?"

"N-No... honestly, I'm just happy that we're starting to act like friends again. I don't want to lose that by telling him how I feel if he doesn't feel the same way."

"I see."

"But, it's alright. As long as we can stay friends, even after my work study is over, I'd be thrilled."

"Well, the training sessions are done for the day, so the rest of the day will be pretty quiet. You may even get to go home early."

"That'll be a relief after this morning."

"Don't forget that it's good practice for you, though."

"I know."

Chiyo watched Rui for a moment, then added, "I think you should still tell this boy how you feel. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, I'm sure he isn't the kind of person who would end your friendship so willy nilly."

Rui's blush returned. "M-Maybe." Her blush deepened as Chiyo chuckled and teased her a moment longer before going over to her desk to take a look at paperwork. 'I wonder if he feels the same way.'


	7. Chapter 7

The bell tolled and signaled the end of the school day, setting free the students as they rushed to enjoy their weekends.

Rui waited by the entrance for Katsuki, having grown accustomed to walking home with him. Even when she was too busy to chat during lunch or to say anything more than hi in passing, she looked forward to walking home catching up with him. She smiled and waved when she saw him coming down the hall with Eijiro and the others.

"How was class?" she asked, looking up at him and trying not to blush as she recalled what happened at lunch.

"It was fine." Katsuki replied, shouldering his bag. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, if you are." She waved to the others. "Bye, guys, see you later."

Katsuki led the way out of the main building, Rui falling into step beside him just as she did every other day. They walked a ways before Rui broke the silence and asked how his day went.

"Same as always, I suppose. With final exams coming up, they're really making us cram."

"Sounds rough."

"It's whatever. What about you?"

"It was fairly quiet after lunch, so I was able to get caught up on the homework I missed out on the last few days. I was even able to do my homework for this weekend, too, just to make sure I could completely relax."

"You look like you could use it."

Rui glared playfully at him and stuck her tongue out. "At least I don't look so grumpy all the time."

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help smiling at her playfulness. It reminded him of when they were children.

"There, isn't that better?"

"Whatever."

Rui giggled and looked ahead of them. "So, what do you have planned for this weekend?"

"Nothing really. You?"

"Nothing really."

They stopped as a train passed by and waited for the way to clear. After a few moments of silence between them, Rui hesitantly asked, "Katsuki, we're friends, right..?"

Katsuki looked down at her. "Why would you ask a stupid question like that?" Almost immediately, he regretted the tone he used when he saw the hurt in Rui's eyes.

"It's just... I was gone for ten years and I never wrote, never called... and you were so mad at me that first day..." Rui sighed and fiddled with her hair. "Since then, though, it just seems like you're less and less mad at me... and that maybe... we have a chance at being friends again..."

"Rui..."

The level crossing barrier lifted and the flashing warning lights dimmed, allowing cars and pedestrians to cross once more.

"Sorry, you're right; it was a stupid question... Forget I said anything..." Rui offered him a smile before continuing to walk towards their neighborhood.

Katsuki's chest tightened at her fake smile in that moment and he made to catch up to her, to stop her and say something- _**anything**_\- but before he could, Rui's phone rang and she quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"_Rui, hey! It's Mina!_"

"Hey, Mina, what's up?"

"_Wanna catch a movie tonight?_"

"Sure, that sounds fun. What time?"

"_We're thinking around 5pm? There's this new horror movie that just came out._"

"That works. Meet you there, then?"

"_Yeah, and you can even bring Katsuki with you!_"

Rui's face turned bright red. "S-See you at 5. Bye."

"_See you at 5, hehe, bye!_"

"Everything OK?" Katsuki asked, seeing her flushed cheeks.

"Y-Yes, everything's fine. Mina invited me to go see a horror movie with her and a few others. She said you could come, too, if you want. They're meeting up at 5."

"Horror movie, huh? Sounds fun."

"So you'll come?"

"Sure, why not? I've got nothing better to do."

Rui smiled at that. "We should hurry home and change, then."

* * *

The rest of the walk home was short, but it felt like it droned on forever with the awkward silence between them after Rui's question and Katsuki's lack of an answer. They parted ways at their street, each heading to their own home to get ready to meet up with the others.

Katsuki exchanged a brief greeting with his parents, explained that he was going out with Rui and the others for movie and would be back later, then hurried upstairs to shower.

As the water rushed over his body, Katsuki thought back on Rui's question and how it made him feel. 'Damn it... I shouldn't have said it was a stupid question... I need to fix this somehow...'

He finished his shower quickly and changed into a clean set of clothes before checking the weather forecast.

'Guess I was right; it is going to rain.'

"Katsuki! Rui's here, are you ready to go?" Mitsuki called up.

Grabbing his phone and jacket before heading back down the stairs, Katsuki stopped at the bottom and stared at Rui- seeing her dressed in a yellow sundress adorned with white polka dots and matching yellow sandals, her hair pulled into a half pony tail, and a blue jacket draped over her arm as she waited.

"It's supposed to rain later, be sure to bring your umbrella." Mitsuki said, handing an umbrella to Katsuki. "Do you need one, too, Rui?"

"That would be great, actually. I really should get one for myself."

"Here, take this and you can return it later." Mitsuki handed Rui an umbrella as Katsuki slipped his shoes on, then smiled before shooing them both out the front door. "Have fun with your friends, you two. Call me if you need a ride home, OK? Try not to walk home in the rain if you can help it."

"We will." Rui smiled and waved as they stepped onto the street. "Thanks, Mitsuki!"

As Rui and Katsuki walked to the bus stop, a crack of thunder sounded and a thin streak of lightning danced across the sky in the distance. Katsuki looked at Rui, puzzled as she started counting.

"What are you counting for?"

"If you count the seconds between each flash of lightning and sound of thunder, then divide it by five, you get the number of miles away the storm is."

"There's no way that's true."

"Wanna bet?"

Katsuki raised a brow and smirked. "Alright, what're we betting?"

"If I win, you take me out for dinner."

"And if I win?"

"Hmm..." Rui thought a moment. "What would you want for winning?"

"How about you make me dinner at your place?"

Rui blushed a bit, but smiled and nodded. "Deal." She looked to the sky. "Though, let's start after the next round, OK? You made me lose track."

"That sounds like an excuse to me." Katsuki teased.

Rui stuck out her tongue. "It's gotta be fair."

Another flash of lightning in the distance and crash of thunder echoed behind them. Rui began counting again, reaching forty-five before the next round came.

"So forty-five divided by five is nine, which means the storm is nine miles away."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. And how exactly will we know who wins?"

"This is where I'm glad I paid attention to Mom." Rui was very proud of herself for this moment. "The average rainstorm is typically a single cell type, which means they go about thirty to forty miles per hour. At that speed, it would take about fifteen to eighteen minutes for the storm to hit town."

"OK?"

"So, assuming that's all correct, we'll know who the winner is in about fifteen to eighteen minutes." Rui blushed when she saw the look Katsuki was giving her. "W-What?"

"You're a total nerd, aren't you?"

"N-No, I just paid attention to my lessons." Rui pouted a bit as she tried to hide her blushing from him. "Besides, water is kind of my thing, in case you didn't notice."

"Oh, I've noticed. Every time I've gotten drenched because of you."

The bus finally pulled up and they climbed aboard, finding a couple of seats towards the middle. As the bus headed towards its next stop, Katsuki and Rui continued their playful banter- finding themselves quite at ease around each other despite everything else that had happened.

"Hey, Rui?"

"Yeah?"

"About your question earlier..."

"Oh..." Rui knew which question he meant from the tone in his voice. "Don't worry about it..."

"It wasn't a stupid question." Katsuki sighed, rubbing his neck nervously. "And I'm sorry for making you feel like that."

Rui looked up and swore he was blushing, but they passed through a tunnel and lost the light to tell.

"My point is..." Katsuki swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'd like that. To be friends, again, I mean."

Rui was a bit taken aback by the how genuine his remark was, but it made her so happy to hear that. "Good, I'm glad."

Wanting desperately to change the subject, Katsuki cleared his throat and said, "So, this horror movie..."


	8. Chapter 8

By the time Katsuki and Rui arrived at the movie theater, there was only ten seconds between each flash of lightning and crash of thunder and tiny droplets began tapping against the townscape.

"Huh, looks like you were right." Katsuki said, looking up at the very grey sky.

"Told you." Rui replied, smugly.

"Told who what?"

They looked over to see Mina, Eijiro, Denki, Rikido Sato, Hanta, and Toru joining them.

"Hey guys, glad you made it OK." Rui smiled as she greeted them.

"You guys just get here, too?"

"Yeah. Lucky, too, with the rain starting up. Hopefully it won't be too bad on the way home."

"Well let's get our tickets and hurry inside!"

Rui and Katsuki followed after the others, Rui paying for both of their tickets and Katsuki paying for their snacks.

"I hope you don't think this counts as 'dinner'." Rui teased as Katsuki took the tub of popcorn from the clerk.

Katsuki smirked and leaned in to reply, "Oh no, I've got something different in mind for that."

Rui felt her face erupt as his smirk grew and he planted the tub of popcorn into her arms before walking off to join Eijiro and the other guys.

Mina and Toru saw this little interaction, exchanged very giddy smiles, then rushed over to Rui and demanded answers.

"What. was. that?"

"Are you guys like a thing now?"

Rui wanted to retreat into herself and hide somewhere where she could just brew over her currently whirling emotions. "Um... I..." She glanced over at Katsuki for a brief moment, then tore her gaze from him when he noticed. "We should find our seats." She turned away from the girls and started heading towards their theater section, double checking her seat number.

Mina and Toru hurried to catch up to her.

"Come on, Rui, talk to us!"

"W-We're not together. We've barely started being friends again."

"So what was that then?"

Rui sighed, feeling incredibly hot still. "Katsuki and I made a bet, I won, so now he owes me dinner."

"What kind of bet?"

"He bet that it wasn't true that counting the seconds between each flash of lightning and sound of thunder divided by five would tell you how far away a storm was."

"That's what it was?"

"I know, it's pretty silly, but I sorta raised the challenge and he accepted it."

"What would have happened if he won?"

"I owed him dinner instead."

"Wow."

"That's actually pretty cute."

"I know, right?" Mina sighed, offering Rui a reassuring smile. "Look, don't sweat it, OK? It's not like it's a date or anything." She paused when she saw Rui's expression. "Is it?"

"N-No..?"

"Oh my gosh, do you want it to be?"

"M-Maybe..?"

"I knew it! You do like him!"

"Shhh! Do you want the whole town to hear you?"

"Hehe, sorry. But, Rui, that's awesome! Have you told him yet?"

Rui shook her head. "Like I said, we barely started being friends again. What if he doesn't feel the same way? Then it could ruin our friendship and I don't want that to happen again."

They found their seats and started filling them, lucky to have them all practically right next to each other.

"I say just let things run their course. It's not like you're going anywhere." Mina said, leaning over the back of the seat next to Rui from where she sat behind her.

"That's the thing, though. My work study ends when your final exams do. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay in town after that..."

"Damn, that sucks."

"Maybe see how dinner with him goes and decide from there if you should tell him or not." Toru suggested. "Personally, I think you should tell him, regardless."

"Tell who what?"

Rui looked up as Katsuki and Eijiro finally joined them- Eijiro's arms just as loaded with snacks as Denki and Rikido's were.

"Oh nothing. That's a lot of snacks, Eijiro, are you going to be able to finish all of that?"

"You betcha! Besides, there's plenty to go around if anyone wants to share."

"Ooo, sure, I'll take you up on that."

"Yeah, me too. Dude, trade me spots?"

Rui giggled as she watched everyone interacting together, then turned her attention to Katsuki as he offered her a drink.

"Here, thought you might get thirsty. You still like cherry, right?"

"Thank you." Rui took the drink and set it in her cup holder. "You remembered?"

Katsuki shrugged. "Remember those popsicles we used to eat as kids? Cherry was your favorite. Kind of hard to forget when that was all you ever wanted."

Rui's blush returned in full force and she was grateful that the lights were dimming as the movie previews started. "It was, and watermelon was yours."

Katsuki took his seat next to Rui and leaned back. "Remember that one night we camped out in my backyard?"

Rui smiled. "When we had s'mores and lit sparklers in the street?"

"Yeah, and my mom made tonkatsu donburi for dinner."

"That was the summer before my dad died." Rui said with a sigh. "I wish I had had more summers like that with you and Izuku."

"We definitely missed you. Deku cried for days."

Rui chuckled. "From what your mother told me, so did you."

Katsuki slunk back in his seat. "I did not."

Rui smiled. "If it makes you feel better, I cried, too. Not just because my dad had just died, but because I missed you and Izuku so much. You guys were my only friends." She glanced back at Mina and the others, her smile growing. "But since taking the work study, not only did I get my two childhood friends back, I also made plenty of new ones."

"You definitely fit in around here, that's for sure."

"Shh, guys, the movie's starting!"

* * *

Rui and Katsuki were surprised to find that the horror movie wasn't as cliche and cheesy as they thought it would be. There were plenty of jump scares and during one of the scariest scenes, Rui was practically clinging to Katsuki's arm until it was over. When she realized what she had been doing, she blushed and shied away- trying to focus on the movie.

Katsuki found that he didn't mind the contact, but what got him blushing most from it was how she was pressed against him. When she shied away, he noticed that he was almost disappointed.

The movie was just over an hour long and by the time it was over, everyone was thrilled for it to be done.

"That was soooo scary!"

Rui and Katsuki walked with the others as they filed out of the theater and neither of them would look at the other.

"Hey, look guys, the rain stopped!"

"Yeah, but there's still thunder so it could come back."

"We should all try to get home before it does."

"Sounds good. Hey, we should do something else this weekend."

"Yeah, totally! I heard there's a group discount at the community pool. Wanna check it out?"

"Sure, that sounds fun. Let's figure out the details tomorrow?"

"Perfect, text you tomorrow, then!"

"Alright, see you later, guys!"

Rui and Katsuki waved as everyone started going their separate ways before heading towards their bus stop. They got about half way there before the rain started to pick up and they opened their umbrellas- Katsuki holding Rui's as she pulled her jacket on.

"Wow, it's really coming down." Rui noted, looking out from beneath her umbrella.

"Let's hope the bus isn't late."

"Even if it is, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"If it weren't for your quirk, I'd think you were a total weirdo for liking water so much."

Rui stuck out her tongue. "I'd love water even if it weren't part of my quirk." She closed her eyes and listened to the rain as it poured down from dark skies. "There's something calming about water. When it's raining, if you close your eyes and just listen, it's almost like everything else around you just stands still."

Katsuki watched her a moment or two before closing his eyes and listening. He stood there for a bit, noting the calm silence behind the rain.

"See?"

"More like hear."

Rui rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. "Smart ass."

"Beats being a dumb ass."

Rui giggled at that and checked her watch. "The bus is late. What do you want to do?"

"Feel like taking a walk?"

Rui looked at him with brow raised in mock disbelief. "**_You _**want to go for a walk in the rain?"

"Hey, if you don't want to, fine. We can just sit here, waiting bored for the bus that may or may not show up."

"I didn't say no, in fact I think it's a splendid idea. I'm more stunned that you offered."

Katsuki gestured towards their route home with a smirk. "After you then."


	9. Chapter 9

The soft pattering of rain on the streets resonated with Rui's humming as she and Katsuki walked home. They talked about the movie, about possibly going to the pool with the others, and what else they could do over the weekend.

"This is nice." Rui said after a while.

"What?"

"This." She gestured between them. "I've missed this: talking with you, hanging out, having fun."

Katsuki chuckled and looked up at the small clearing of clouds in the sky. "Yeah, me too."

"I hope we can stay friends this time. I don't ever want to lose that bond again."

Katsuki watched Rui a moment, wondering what was going through her head. "Why wouldn't we stay friends?"

Rui shrugged. "I don't know, something might happen or be said that could ruin everything." She sighed. "I guess I'm just worried about losing you again after just getting you back."

'Rui...'

"At any rate, I'm glad things are looking up for us. Hey, wanna see something cool?"

Katsuki raised a brow and looked at her, intrigued. "Cool, huh? Sure, why not?"

Rui smiled and skipped ahead a few feet before stopping and taking a meditative stance.

Katsuki watched as her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, standing still for a few moments. 'Nothing's happening.' he thought, but then he noticed the water around Rui shifting and swirling about. 'What the hell?' He watched the water circle around Rui, dancing in little waves before coming to a halt as it hovered just above the sidewalk. He looked up at Rui, seeing her open her eyes and smile at him before stepping up onto the water like it was a solid platform.

"What do you think?"

"How are you doing that?" Katsuki asked, watching her circle around him on the water as if she were riding a surf board or something of the like.

"It brings new meaning to the term 'water boarding', right?" Rui giggled, showing off her little trick. "It doesn't really have a name, but it's something I figured out how to do when I was just starting to learn how to control my quirk." She circled around him a few more times, then stopped in front of him and offered him a hand up. "Wanna take it for a spin?"

"What? You're crazy if you think I'm getting on that thing."

"Come on, Kacchan, it's not like I'm going to drop you. Besides, I've been doing this for years. You can trust me."

Katsuki was surprised that she used his childhood nickname and hesitated for a few moments before finally giving in. "Screw it, what's the worst that can happen anyway?"

Rui helped him up onto the platform. "You should hold on tight." She winked, then propelled them forward- taking them high over the rooftops to look out over the entire townscape. She giggled when Katsuki threw an arm around her waist to steady himself and her smile grew when she saw the awe in his eyes as he looked around them.

"This is amazing..." Katsuki mused, seeing the whole of Musutafu spread out around them.

"Look, Katsuki, a rainbow!"

Katsuki looked where Rui pointed and saw the evening sunlight peeking through the clouds, illuminating a brilliant rainbow as it stretched from one end of town to the next. "Wow."

Rui smiled, taking them a little further along on their path before setting them back down. As they reached the second bus stop from their homes, her "water board" dissipated and they dropped just a few inches onto the sidewalk.

"Where are we?"

"A couple bus stops from home."

"That didn't take long."

Rui chuckled. "It's a great mode of transportation."

"Why don't you use it more often?"

"Why don't you use your burst shots to fly around more often?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Point taken."

"I can only do it when it's raining or there's a rather large quantity of water that I have access to. So if we were at a lake, I'd be able to do it, or maybe at the pool if it were big enough." Rui closed her umbrella and arced her hand over her head. "I can also do this."

Katsuki looked up to see that Rui had formed some sort of barrier above them. He reached out from under his umbrella and felt no rain coming through it. "Wow."

"I've been trying to figure out how to make a bigger barrier for combat purposes, but a barrier of that magnitude takes a lot of energy out of me and requires quite a deal of concentration to maintain."

"That would be useful for support and defense." Katsuki noted.

"Yeah, but I'm wondering if there's a way I could potentially use it for offense as well. You know, just in case something happens?"

"Who knows? You just gotta keep working at it."

"I know."

They had kept walking as they talked, Katsuki closing his umbrella as well as Rui kept up the barrier. When they reached his house, Rui handed him the umbrella she borrowed and bid him a good night before hurrying across the street to her apartment building- lowering her barrier just as she made it to the stairwell.

Katsuki watched as she waved from her floor before heading inside himself, calling out as he slipped out of his shoes and set the umbrellas in the stand.

"How was the movie, dear?" Mitsuki asked, coming out of the kitchen with a mug of tea in hand.

"It was alright."

"I made some tea, if you'd like some."

"Sure, but I need another shower."

"Alright, well I can bring it up in a bit and leave it on your desk for you when you're ready."

"Thanks."

Katsuki went upstairs to change out of his wet clothes and take a nice, long, hot shower to wash away the ache from the cold rain. He pressed his head against the shower wall, thinking back on the events of the night.

'Why did I tease her so much about owing her dinner? It's not like it's a date or anything... and it's barely been a week since she came back, so why..? Why do I feel so at ease around her..? What is it..?'


	10. Chapter 10

_*beep beep beep*_

_..._

_*beep beep beep*_

_..._

_*beep beep beep*_

"Mmm... shut up already... I'm up... I'm up..!"

Rui tapped the button on her alarm clock and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She stretched and yawned, wanting desperately to go back to sleep only to have her phone ring.

"Hello..?"

"_Morning, sleepy head!_"

"Hi, Mina, what's up?"

"_You up for going to the pool today? All of Class 1-A is coming._"

"Sure, what time?"

"_Around noonish._"

"Sounds good. Is it indoor or outdoor?"

"_Oh, it's indoors, so don't worry about sunscreen or anything._"

"Alright, I'll see you guys at noonish."

_"Great, see you then! Bye!_"

Rui smiled. "Bye." She set her phone on the table as she made her way into the kitchen to make some coffee and breakfast. As she started the coffee machine, though, a knock came at her door. "Who could possibly be bothering me first thing in the morning?" She opened the door and found Izuku waiting on the other side. "Oh, morning, Izuku."

Izuku offered a sheepish smile when he saw her bed head and her pajamas still. "Morning, Rui. Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, no, you're fine. I'm just about to make some coffee and breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

"Come on in, then, and make yourself at home."

Izuku stepped inside and slid off his shoes as Rui headed back to the kitchen.

"So, what brings you by this morning?"

"I wanted to see how you were holding up. We haven't talked much lately, between your work study and my extra training."

"Aww, that's sweet of you. I'm doing alright, considering how busy things have been." Rui looked back at Izuku as he sat down at the table. "Do you want coffee? Tea? I've also got grapefruit juice, milk, or water."

"Um, milk is fine, thanks."

Rui poured him a glass of milk, then went about making breakfast. "How's your training going?"

"It's been pretty intense, but it'll all be worth it when we pass the final exams."

"I don't know what your final exams will look like, but I can tell it won't be that easy based on the injuries I've been seeing coming into the infirmary lately. I hope you're not overworking yourself?"

"No, I promise." Izuku traced the design on the glass for a moment. "How are things with Kacchan?" he asked hesitantly.

"They were off to a rocky start, but yesterday he said that he wanted us to be friends again, so things are looking promising." Rui explained as she cooked a few eggs.

"That's a relief. I was really hoping that he wouldn't stay mad at you."

"You and me both."

Izuku sensed there was something more. "What is it?"

Rui sighed, moving from the eggs to the coffee. "Things are finally starting to go back to how they were and I'm just afraid that it's all going to vanish again..."

"Why would it?"

"My work study ends when your final exams do..."

"You're not staying... are you?"

Rui shook her head. "The work study is only two weeks and I have to go back home afterwards."

"And you haven't told Kacchan, yet, have you?"

"No... because I know he'll be upset..."

"Will you be able to stay in touch this time, though?"

"I hope so." Rui added some cream and sugar to her coffee, then threw some bread in the toaster. "I think by this point, or I would hope so at least, that I've proven myself enough to Mom to where she'll let me stay in touch with everyone. Especially you and Katsuki."

"Well, you've been working really hard for your work study, and maybe Mr. Aizawa can help convince your mom to let you stay in touch." Izuku said, going into his usual analytic muttering state.

Rui smiled as Izuku thought over everything, finishing their breakfast and bringing it over while he was still deep in thought.

"Sorry, I did it again, didn't I?" Izuku laughed nervously, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

"I take it this happens a lot?" Rui mused as she sipped her coffee.

"Kind of."

They sat there eating breakfast silently for a while before Izuku spoke next.

"I think you should tell Kacchan, even if he does get upset. At least this time, we'll have time to say a proper goodbye."

Rui sighed. "True..."

"Do you... want to stay?"

"I do, but I don't see a way that I can. Not while I still have school to finish. I was planning on coming back to Musutafu once I was out of school and becoming a permanent resident here again, but that's still a couple years away."

"Have you talked to Mr. Aizawa about it? Or Principal Nezu, even? Maybe they can offer you a more permanent position."

"Maybe. I don't know. There's a lot to consider."

"True."

A minute or two of silence ensued, then Rui asked, "You're going to the pool, too, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Mina set it up so we could all go as a class."

"She seems to be the big party planner out of everyone in your class."

"She definitely has the energy for it."

Rui smiled. "That she does. She's one of the biggest reason I've felt so welcome at U.A. aside from you and Katsuki."

"She has that effect on people, that's for sure." Izuku finished the last of his milk. "Well, thanks for breakfast, Rui."

"Any time, Izuku. I take it you need to head out?"

"Yeah, there's a few things I need to take care of before everybody meets up this afternoon."

Rui set her mug down and walked him to the door. "Thanks, Izuku, for checking up on me."

"Of course. What are friends for, right?"

Rui's smile grew and she hugged Izuku. "I'm so glad we have had the chance to reconnect after all these years."

"Me too." Izuku stepped back. "See you there?"

"See you there." Rui waved as Izuku made his way down her hallway to the stairwell, then shut the door and went back to the kitchen to clean things up.

'I really am lucky to have people like Izuku and the others in my life.'


	11. Chapter 11

The community pool was bustling in the heat of the nearing summer weather and most of Class 1-A was already waiting. Katsuki sat with some of the guys, wondering why he kept agreeing to these social gatherings.

'I hate coming to these things, so why...?'

He looked up when he heard someone calling out Rui's name and saw her running towards them, apologizing for being late once she reached their group. 'She's not late, though.'

"Who are we still waiting on?"

"I think it's just Midoriya, Aoyama, and Uraraka."

"Hmm, I wonder what's keeping them?"

"I can call Izuku real quick, if that helps?" Rui offered.

"Sure, and I'll call Aoyama. Toru, can you call Uraraka?"

"Okie dokie!"

Katsuki watched Rui, Mina, and Toru as they bantered back and forth. Hearing Rui say Izuku's name, however, struck a bit of a nerve.

'Still don't understand how they could be so friendly right off the bat like that... and why does that even bother me..? It's not like they're together or anything... Stupid Deku has a thing for that gravity chick... So why..? Tch... whatever...'

He continued to watch her as she stepped off to the side, her phone to her ear as she called Izuku.

'So the damn nerd is going to be late, huh? Figures.'

"So, Izuku is running a bit late but he said he'll be here shortly. Any news from the others?" Rui asked.

"Aoyama said he's already here, he's just taking care of a few things? Whatever that means." Mina said.

"Uraraka's bus came a bit late, but she's almost here." Toru added.

"Well, why don't we head on in and they can join us later?" Tenya Ida suggested.

"Sure, that works." Mina looped her arm through Rui's. "Come on, let's get changed!"

Katsuki and the guys went to find seats by the pool as the girls all got changed, but he still couldn't get Rui off his mind. He didn't understand why it bothered him so much to see her around other guys, laughing and smiling or just talking with them. He didn't understand what it was about it that kept drawing him back in.

'Are we just catching up on lost time..? he wondered, lounging back in the seat he claimed for his own.

While Katsuki was lost in thought, Rui and the girls finally joined the guys- each sporting a different kind of swimsuit from bikinis to one pieces to the halter top skirt bottom suit Rui wore. Minoru, of course, drooled the most out of all the guys as they admired the girl's swimwear choices, but Katsuki wasn't really paying attention. Not until Rui came over and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"You OK, Katsuki?"

Katsuki glanced over at her, not expecting a simple and not so revealing swimsuit to suit her so well. He quickly sat up and looked away, hoping he could hide the blushing in his cheeks from her. "I'm fine. Took you guys long enough."

Rui rolled her eyes and offered him her hand. "Come on, grumpy gills, let's go swim."

Katsuki eyed her for a moment, then gave in to her smile and took her hand- letting her pull him up and drag him along as everyone headed into the water.

Rui and Class 1-A enjoyed the numerous slides and pools available- Izuku and the others joining them shortly after. The lazy river seemed to be a favorite among the more relaxed personalities of Class 1-A like Momo and Tsuyu, while the slides were the favorite among the more boisterous personalities like Mina, Denki, and Eijiro.

A few games of chicken, dozens of trips down the waterslides, several rounds on the lazy river, and even a couple games of water polo later, over two hours had passed and everyone was starting to get hungry.

"Man, I'm starving!"

"What do they have here?"

"Not much, really. It's pretty much all vending machines."

"Nah, that's lame. I want some real food!"

Rui giggled as she watched the others deciding what to eat from where she sat with Katsuki.

"You're in a good mood."

Rui shifted her gaze to Katsuki. "And why wouldn't I be? I get to relax and hang out with friends on the weekend after a very long week."

"Uh huh."

"Besides, I always enjoy myself when I'm with you." Realizing what she had just said, Rui started blushing and looked away in an attempt to hide it from Katsuki.

Katsuki, meanwhile, was blushing a bit himself at her comment. It had been a long time since anyone had genuinely enjoyed themselves around him- aside from his parents. He was convinced that most people pretended to like him or put up with him just to keep the peace. But he also couldn't blame them considering how he was with almost every person he knew.

"Hey, you guys up for ramen?" Eijiro called over, grabbing their attention.

"S-Sure, that sounds great." Rui replied, offering a smile and hoping she wasn't blushing so much that the others would notice.

"Ya, whatever, that's fine." Katsuki added.

"Well, then, let's get going!"

Class 1-A took the lead as they left the pool and started making their way down the street a few blocks to the nearest ramen restaurant. Rui trailed behind in the back, checking her phone as a message came in from her mother.

Izuku noticed she seemed a bit worried by something, so he waited for her to catch up and asked if she was alright.

"Uh, yeah... sorry, my mom texted me."

"Is she OK?"

"I think so. She just doesn't usually text me, and even when she calls, it's usually every couple of days just to check in. It's just a bit odd."

"Maybe she just misses you?"

Rui sighed, tucking her phone back into her bag. "Maybe. I've never been away from home before, so this is new for both of us. I just hope that she's holding up alright."

Up ahead a ways, Katsuki noticed that Izuku had slipped to the back of the group to talk with Rui. Seeing them talking so nonchalantly and so friendly really bothered him, but what really pissed him off is not knowing why it bothered him so much.

'Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me?'

As Katsuki brooded and argued with himself, Izuku noticed his glare and gulped a bit.

"So, when are you going to tell him?" he asked, trying to ignore Katsuki's piercing gaze.

Rui followed his line of sight to Katsuki, who immediately looked away. "I don't know... but I need to do it soon... If I wait any longer, it'll only get harder..."

"It won't be easy." Izuku sighed.

"I know..."


	12. Chapter 12

The day started coming to an end after Class 1-A and Rui parted ways, their bellies full of ramen. Katsuki and Rui headed home, but after walking most of the way home in silence, Rui was growing more uncomfortable with the tension in the air.

"Katsuki, is everything alright? You seem upset."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? If there's anything you want to talk about, I-"

"I said I'm fine!"

Rui jumped, not expecting him to yell at her. She stopped in her tracks, unsure of how to proceed. "You didn't have to yell at me..."

Katsuki stopped a couple yards ahead of her and glanced back at her over his shoulder. "You say something?"

Rui began to remember how his temperament had been as children and her heart started to sink. But that didn't stop her from standing her ground. "I said you didn't have to yell at me."

Katsuki glared at her a moment, then rolled his eyes and started walking again. "Tch, whatever."

"Why are you so angry, Katsuki? Is it something I did or said?" Rui asked, hurrying to try to catch up to him as he quickened his pace. "Come on, talk to me, Kacchan."

Katsuki turned and smacked Rui's hand away as she touched his hand. "I said I was fine, so why do you have to go poking around?"

Rui hadn't seen him this angry- ever- and she wasn't sure what to do, but for some reason she felt like she was losing him again. And quickly. "Because I'm worried and I care about you."

"Yeah, well don't, alright?"

"Kacchan, I-"

"And stop calling me 'Kacchan'! We're not kids anymore, Rui!"

Rui was trying desperately to hold back her tears. "Why do you have to be such an ass sometimes?"

"If you don't like it, then leave. See if I care!"

"So then you wouldn't care if I went back home?"

"Go right ahead, it's just a few blocks away! Hell, use that stupid ass water board trick of yours to get there faster!"

"That's..." Rui was unable to keep holding back her tears and they started trickling down her cheeks. "That's not what I meant..."

At that point, seeing Rui crying, Katsuki wanted to kick himself and it barely registered what Rui was trying to say. "What are you talking about?"

"At the end of my work study, when your final exams are done... I'm going home..."

Katsuki looked at her, his angry fading for a moment. "You're... not staying..?"

"No..."

"Does Deku know..?"

"Yeah... I told him this morning..."

Hearing that Izuku knew before he did made Katsuki's anger boiling up again. "Of course you told him first. Why wouldn't you? You two have been acting like nothing ever happened, like you weren't gone for ten years."

Rui looked up at that, stunned by the coldness of his tone. "I was afraid to tell you because I knew you would act like this!" she retorted. "I didn't want to lose you again, not after we just started being friends again!"

"Were you even going to tell me?" Katsuki fired back. "Or were you just going to leave again without so much as a goodbye?"

"I had no choice before! We were six, Katsuki! What was I going to do, run away from my mother? After my father just died?"

"You have a choice now!" Katsuki was beginning to feel a sense of desperation mixing with his anger. "You can choose to stay!"

"And what, leave my mother alone? I'm all she has and she's all I have!"

"You have friends, Rui! You have stupid Deku!" Katsuki stepped closer to her, reaching up to grab her by the arms. "You have me!"

Rui froze at that, staring up into those crimson eyes of his and seeing so many emotions whirling together as he struggled to bring them all under control again. "Katsuki..."

"You don't have to leave, Rui..." Katsuki said, his voice beginning to soften.

Rui searched his eyes, wondering how long he had been wrestling with these emotions. She reached up to touch his cheek and sighed. "I want to stay, believe me... but I have to go back to my mother. And I'll do my best to stay in touch, maybe even come visit on the weekends."

Katsuki let go of her arms and stepped back.

"Kacchan, please try to understand-"

"What's the point? You've already made up your mind."

Rui made to say something more, but Katsuki turned his back to her and walked away- heading away from their homes. "Please... Kacchan..." She knew that at this point, there was nothing more she could say to make things better. She stood there, alone, on the sidewalk and watched as Katsuki faded from view. Unsure of what else to do, she pulled out her phone as she walked the rest of the way home and searched through her contacts until she found the person she wanted to call most in that moment.

"_Hello?_"

Rui opened her door and stepped inside just as her call went through. _"*sniff* _Hi, Uncle Shota, it's me."

"_Rui? What is it? Why are you crying?_"

"C-Can you come over?"

"_Of course, but what happened? Is everything alright?_"

Rui was trying to pull herself together, but she couldn't. "I just really need you right now..."

"_I'm on my way._"

Rui hung up and fell back against the wall, sliding down to the floor and unable to stem the flow of tears any longer. She felt just as crushed as she did ten years ago when she was forced to leave her life in Musutafu behind, but this time it was much worse. This time, Rui had realized that her playground crush was now more than just a crush.

Not long after, a knock came at the door and Rui heard it open as Shota let himself inside. She barely looked up when he knelt beside her and just let him pull her into his arms and sit with her as the tears resumed.

Shota had never received a call like that from Rui before and his protective nature went into overdrive. He rushed over as fast as he could possibly manage, his worries only growing when he saw that Rui's door wasn't locked. Finding her on the floor like that, hugging her knees to her chest and her eyes red from crying, nearly broke his heart. All he knew to do in that moment was hold her- in relief that overall she appeared to be fine and in comfort to try and quell her tears.

After nearly twenty minutes, Rui's tears had run dry and she sat back. "I'm so sorry..."

"Hush, Rui, you don't need to apologize." Shota reached up and wiped away the remaining tears staining her face. "Let's get you to the couch and I'll make you some tea."

Rui nodded and stood with her uncle, letting him lead her to the couch before he hurried to her kitchen. She grabbed one of the throw pillows and clutched it to her chest, staring blankly at the floor.

Shota stood in the kitchen, brewing her her favorite tea- a blend featuring cherry, blackberry, and hibiscus. He watched her stare off into space, holding onto the throw pillow for dear life, and wondered what could have possibly happened to upset her so much. When the tea was done brewing, he stirred in some sugar and brought it over to her- gently touching her shoulder to bring her back from her daydreaming.

"What happened, Rui?"

Rui gingerly took a sip of tea, feeling an added comfort from the warm liquid. "I had a fight with Katsuki..."

"Before I go into protective uncle mode, tell me exactly what happened."

Rui began explaining the events from earlier, trying her best not to let more tears flow free in the process as Shota listened and did his best to keep his own anger in check. When she had finished filling him in, Shota sat back and sighed heavily.

"Damn it..."

"I just wish he hadn't gotten so mad..." Rui said. "I still feel like I may have done something or said something that upset him..."

Shota watched her a few moments before speaking again. "You really care about him, don't you? As more than a friend?"

Rui nodded, too exhausted from crying to blush. "I've always had feelings for him, ever since we first met as kids. But since coming back, I've been realizing more and more that it's not just a little playground crush anymore. It's much more than that and that's why it hurts so much worse this time around."

"This is why I never married."

Rui had to smile at that. "No, you never married because you like your privacy too much."

Shota chuckled. "Maybe. Glad to see you're feeling a bit better now."

"A bit, but it's better than not at all." Rui looked at him. "Thanks, Uncle Shota. I know you aren't exactly the best at this sort of thing, but I didn't know who else to turn to."

"You could have called your mother."

"True, but you know Mom. She'd tell me he's not worth it and that I should have just listened to her and stayed home, then none of this would have happened."

"But do you think he is worth it? After what happened today?"

Rui sighed and looked down at her tea. "I do, and I want to try to fix things, but knowing him? It'd be best to leave things be for now and run their course."

"You've really grown up, Rui." Shota ruffled her hair a bit. "Why don't we order in and watch a movie or something?"

"Don't you have papers you need to grade?"

"They can wait. You're more important right now."

Rui smiled at that and leaned into her uncle. "You're the best, Uncle Shota."


	13. Chapter 13

Rui woke the following morning feeling drained, both physically and emotionally. Shota had stayed another hour or two before Rui insisted that she would be alright and sent him home for the night.

As the sun started to peek through the curtains, she slowly got out of bed and started making her way to the bathroom- turning on the shower and letting the water run for a moment as it heated up.

'Why was he so mad...? There had to be something else...' Rui wondered, stepping into the shower.

The warmth of the water soothed her aching body and helped ease her mind as she washed her hair and body. The fragrance from her soaps intensified in the steam, filling her bathroom with the scents cherry blossom and peach.

Across the street, Katsuki lay back in his bed- staring angrily up at the ceiling of his room. He had been unable to sleep very much after what happened between he and Rui, but he realized that he was more upset with himself than with Rui.

He sort of knew from the beginning the way that Rui talked about her work study and her temporary apartment that she wouldn't be staying, but he had let himself hope more than he should have that she would find a way to stay this time.

'Damn it... how could I be so stupid...? Of course she wouldn't be staying... work studies are meant to be temporary...'

As he sulked, he wondered why it was that he couldn't have brought himself to just ask Rui to stay instead of saying that she had the choice to. He kicked himself silently for saying a lot of the things he had said to her, with almost all of them things he didn't mean to say. But yet again, he let his emotions get the best of him and he made Rui cry as a result.

'I haven't seen her cry in years... and it was my fault then, too...'

Katsuki recalled the last time he had made Rui cry and it just made his guilty deepen all that much more.

* * *

_"Kacchan, stop it! Leave Izuku alone!"_

_"Why are you always defending him, Rui? Do you like him or something?"_

_"He's my friend, and so are you. I would protect you too if you were the one being bullied!"_

_"Deku has no quirk and he's not worth it."_

_"Don't say that, Kacchan. Izuku is still a person, with or without a quirk. Why are you always so mean to him? What did he ever do to you?"  
_

_Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're just being stupid, Rui."_

_"Don't call me stupid, Kacchan."_

_Katsuki watched as Rui helped Izuku to his feet and brushed off the dirt from his jacket and hair before offering him a tissue to blow his nose with. Seeing them together really irritated him, but he didn't know why._

_"Why do you care so much, Rui?"_

_Rui looked at him when he said that. "Because you're my only friends, Kacchan, and you guys mean a lot to me."_

_"You don't have any other friends? Haha, what a joke! I bet it's because of that stupid thing you do with your water."_

_"Kacchan, why are you being so mean?"_

_"What, are you going to cry about it? Like the stupid little girl you are?"_

_"Don't call me stupid..."_

_"Stupid little Rui with her stupid little pigtails and her stupid little dress and her stupid little quirk." Katsuki pushed Rui down into the sand and laughed, glancing back at the other boys who laughed with him. But then he heard sniffling and looked down to see Rui pushing herself back up to her feet, tears streaming down her cheeks. He watched Izuku hurrying to help her up and reach up to wipe away her tears- just like she had done for him many times. "Rui..."_

_Rui stepped back when Katsuki tried to move closer and she shook her head. "Kacchan, you're such a bully *sniff* it's a wonder you even have friends at all..."_

_"Y-Yeah? Well who'd want to be friends with such a stupid cry baby?"_

_"I said don't call me stupid!" Rui yelled at him, throwing water over his head again and drenching him straight through. She turned and ran off, disappearing down the grassy hill._

_Katsuki stood there, dripping wet, as the other boys snickered behind him. He glared at them, then shrugged off Izuku's hand when he tried to check on him._

_"Y-You should apologize to Rui, Kacchan. You really hurt her feelings."_

_"Whatever..."_

_Katsuki headed down the grassy hill and found Rui crouched by the creek, her face buried in her arms. He cautiously made his way over to her, stopping a few yards from her. He stood there, silently, unsure of what to say to make her feel better, but after a few moments he sighed._

_"I-I'm sorry..."_

_Rui sniffed and glanced at him. "Liar..."_

_Katsuki looked at her. "I-I mean it, Rui."_

_Rui wiped her face clear of tears and snot before staring down at the creek as it flowed by. "Do you hate me, Kacchan..?"_

_Katsuki was surprised by her question. "N-No... I don't hate you..." He sighed and sat down on the grass. "I don't hate people who are my friends..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy he had been saving just for her. "H-Here... it might be a bit wet, but I saved this for you."_

_Rui looked at the small wrapped candy in his hand, seeing it was cherry flavored- her favorite. She glanced up at him, unsure what to expect, but she saw that he was blushing and pouting a bit the way he always did when he meant his apologies and was embarrassed to admit it. She reached into her own pocket and pulled out the watermelon candy she had saved for him, putting that in place of the cheery candy as she took it from him._

_"Here, I saved this one for you, too."_

_Katsuki looked down, surprised. "Truce...?" he asked, hopefully._

_Rui smiled and nodded. "Truce."_

* * *

Katsuki sat up and went to his window, pulling aside the curtain and looking across the street at Rui's apartment building. 'We're not kids anymore... it's not that simple...'

He watched Rui come down the stairs and start making her way down the street towards the bus stop, her yellow dress bouncing with each sullen step she took. He sighed, turning away from the window and heading to the bathroom to shower.

'Can I even fix this this time...?'


	14. Chapter 14

Rui stopped by the nearest convenience store, looking for a small bouquet of flowers. As she stepped into the store, the clerk at the counter looked up and recognized her.

"Well, I'll be darned. Is that Hiro's little girl I see?"

Rui smiled. "Mr. Ishikawa, it's wonderful to see you."

Shinichi Ishikawa had been running the convenience store for years, longer than Rui could even remember. He was always happy to see Rui and her father, who had been regulars before Hiro's passing.

"You've grown up to be quite the beauty." Shinichi noted, beaming at her. "It's been a long time, dear girl, where have you been hiding?"

"Mom moved us away after Dad died." Rui explained. "I'm in town for another week for my work study, but I'll be returning home after."

"I see, I see. And how has Isane been all this time?"

"She's been better lately, I think, but Uncle Shota really had to convince her to let me do my work study."

"Good on him, then. It's so wonderful to see you again. We've missed you and your father at the shop. Oh, that reminds me, I was feeling a bit nostalgic the other day so I ordered something I haven't in years."

Rui watched the old man, curiously, as he rummaged through some boxes behind the counter.

"Ah, here it is!" Shinichi turned back towards Rui and handed her a small pouch. "They just arrived this morning."

Rui looked in the pouch and couldn't help but grin. "These are the candies Dad and I used to get."

"Peach and cherry."

Rui hugged Shinichi. "Thank you, Mr. Ishikawa. I needed a pick me up today and this is perfect."

Shinichi chuckled and hugged her back. "Then please, take them on the house. For old times' sake."

"Thank you so much."

"Now, was there something else you needed?"

"Oh, yes, I was going to visit Dad while I was in town. Do you have any flowers?"

"Yes, right over here."

Rui and Shinichi got caught up a bit as Rui selected a bouquet to take to her father's grave, then Shinichi sent her on her way and smiled fondly as he waved to her.

It was a short enough walk to the cemetery and before she knew it, Rui was stepping through the gates of the cemetery. She got her bearings, having not visited her father's gravestone since the day of his funeral, and made her way through the rows of gravestones until she found her father's. Once she had found it, she saw that it was still well kept even though she and her mother had not visited in years.

'Uncle Shota must have took care of it.' she thought, smiling. She reached up and brushed off the small collection of leaves that had gathered from the recent storm.

"Hi, Dad, it's me. Sorry it's been so long, and I'm sorry I didn't come to visit sooner."

Rui set the bouquet on the gravestone and placed some of her father's favorite incense in the small holder before lighting it. She put her hands together and closed her eyes as she offered up a silent prayer.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes and smiled sadly as she said, "I miss you, Dad. Mom does, too. It really hasn't been the same without you."

A strong wind blew through the cemetery and Rui clutched her sun hat to her head so it wouldn't get blown away.

"Things have been as well as they could be without you." She said, continuing, "Mom basically shut down and locked us away from the world after we lost you... she's been overly protective and barely agreed to let me leave home to do a work study. If it hadn't been for Uncle Shota, I'd still be locked away like some princess in an ivory tower from a cheesy fairytale."

Her smile faded a bit. "I got to be reunited with Izuku and Katsuki, my two friends from childhood? Even if it's for a short while, it's been nice to see them again." Sighing, she added, "It didn't go well, though, when I told Katsuki that I wouldn't be staying... he got really mad at me... I don't know if I did or said something that upset him, but he..."

Rui's eyes started to tear up and she reached up to wipe them away.

"Daddy, I don't know what to do... _*sniff*_ I thought we could be friends again... but it's like *_hiccup* _hates me..."

The tears flowed freely just as they had the night before and Rui sank to her knees.

"What do I do...? Why does it have to hurt so much...?"

Unable to reign in her emotions, Rui cried before her father's gravestone. She tried to keep as quiet as she could, so as to not disturb anyone, but it was growing more and more difficult as she began to realize something.

"I love him, Dad... I can't lose him again..."

* * *

By the time Rui left the cemetery and made her way back home, the sun had already started setting. Rui had spent much of her time crying to her father's gravestone, but she also took the time to reminisce with him about happier things. Her eyes were sore and a bit puffy from crying, but Rui felt a bit of a weight lifted from her shoulders nonetheless.

As she reached her apartment building, she chanced a look across the street and noticed a light on in one of the upstairs rooms. She could see the silhouette of someone with spiky hair passing by the window and she wondered if that was Katsuki's room. But as the thought of Katsuki arose, so did her mess of emotions and she hurried inside where she could cry in peace.

'What's going to happen now...? Tomorrow we go back to the school... is he going to ignore me again..?'


	15. Chapter 15

Rui walked alone in silence the following morning. She had debated waiting for Katsuki to join her as she did every morning, but thought better on it and made her way to U.A. by herself.

The bustling of the students as they crowded towards campus was a welcome sight, but it just reminded Rui more and more that she wouldn't see it for very much longer.

'You can do this, Rui...'

She greeted the teachers and students she had befriended as she passed them by in the hallway, making her way quickly to the infirmary where she could escape and hide herself away from everything as much as possible.

Keeping herself as busy as she could throughout the day, Rui barely left the clinic- even for lunch. This didn't go unnoticed by her friends and they could sense that something was wrong.

Izuku watched Rui and Katsuki closely, figuring that it was something that had happened between them that was the cause of the turmoil. 'She must have told him...'

"Midoriya, do you know what's up with Bakugo and Rui?" Eijiro asked.

Izuku sighed. "Not really sure, but I think it has something to do with Rui going back home after this week."

"What? You mean she isn't staying?"

Izuku shook his head. "She has to go home once her work study is over. She said she'd try to stay in touch as much as she can, even visit on the weekends."

"Man, that sucks. I really like her."

"It's not every day you get to see someone even come close to taming Bakugo." Denki added.

Across the cafeteria, Katsuki brooded more than he usually did as he mulled over everything going on. Not only were finals closing in, but Rui was going home at the end of the week.

'It's not like her work study was going to go on forever... so why does it bother me so much that she's leaving..?'

He thought over everything that had happened since Rui came back into his life and how his life had begun to change- more or less for the better, even if he wouldn't admit it aloud. They had just started being friends again, just started to reconnect, but now it was like it would all get taken away just like before.

'This is so stupid...' he said to himself, his eyes wandering about the cafeteria in search of Rui. But there was no sign of her, just as there had been no sign of her that morning on the way to school. 'We have all week to say goodbye, it's not like she's just disappearing again...'

"Dude, did you hear that cute girl who's been helping out in the infirmary is leaving at the end of the week?"

Katsuki watched and listened as a group students from another class commented on Rui's ending work study.

"Man, that really sucks, she's awesome! I wish they'd offer her a permanent position here or something."

"Yeah, she's been doing a really great job, too. Too bad, she's going to be missed quite a bit around here."

Katsuki rolled his eyes and started to tune out the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria, but their words had already stuck their claws in deep. 'They're right, though... she's going to be missed...'

* * *

Rui stayed behind after the school bell rang to end the day and cleaned the infirmary for the third time that day. It wasn't until Shota came to the infirmary to get her that she even realized it was way passed time to go home.

"Rui."

"Hmm?"

"It's time to go home. Come on, grab your things, we'll grab dinner on the way."

Rui looked at her uncle and sighed. "I'm alright, Uncle Shota. You go on ahead. I still have a few more things to do."

Shota watched her for a few moments. "You're more like your father than you realize. He used to bury himself in work, too, whenever something bothered him."

Rui paused in her work. "I'm alright, Uncle, really." She offered him her most convincing smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, and we can take a rain check on dinner, I promise."

"Alright, but be sure to call if you need anything."

Rui kept her smile up as long as she could, but when her uncle left the infirmary, it quickly faded once more. Sighing, she returned to finishing the few remaining tasks she had given herself.

As she completed her work for the day, she thought over what she was going to do about the rest of the week. The day had been difficult enough, trying to avoid contact with Katsuki as she worried she would only make things worse.

'Can I keep doing this all week, though? I can't avoid him forever...'

While she gathered her things and rechecked that she had finished her work for the day for the fourth or fifth time, Katsuki was making his way through the campus- having stayed after school as well to get in some extra training. He had hoped it would help clear his head, but it did little to quiet the turmoil of emotions and thoughts battering against him.

'Why am I so angry about this...?' He kept asking himself, but couldn't find an answer.

He turned a corner near the exit, nearly running smack dab into Rui- who was just as lost in her thoughts as him.

Rui stopped short of herself as she almost collide with another person and when she made to apologize for not paying attention, she saw that it was Katsuki and found herself tongue tied. She opened her mouth a few times to say something, but each time, she hesitated. Finally, she turned away and hurried off, hoping to put some distance between them.

Katsuki stood there, unsure of what to do or say. He could see how much Rui was struggling, how much she wanted to say something, but the hurt was still clear in her eyes and he couldn't blame her for walking away. He watched as she got further and further away from him, all the while a voice in his head was calling him an idiot and telling him to go after her. But he feared that he would only blow up on her again and that made him even angrier at himself than he already was.

"Damn it..!" he muttered after punching the wall next to him. He looked up to see that Rui had disappeared from view. "I have to fix this... but how..?"


	16. Chapter 16

The next few days proceeded more or less the same and Rui continued to hide herself away and bury herself in her work as much as possible. During homeroom, Shota kept an eye on Katsuki- more to see how the situation with his niece would affect his judgment as the finals drew closer and closer than anything else.

Chiyo grew concerned about Rui's behavior, worried that she was running from whatever troubled her instead of confronting it. The day before the final exam, she dragged Rui out of the infirmary and pulled her along to the cafeteria for some lunch.

"So tell me, dear girl, what's on your mind. You've been rather focused on your work, but not much else lately."

Rui walked with Chiyo, unsure of where to begin or if she really wanted to talk about what happened to anyone else. Her uncle was one thing, but she didn't know if she was ready to confide in someone else.

"Whatever it is, Rui dear, I am happy to lend an ear. I've grown rather fond of you during your time here and I hate seeing you so down. Your uncle has been worried, too."

Rui sighed. "I know... there's just a lot on my mind..."

"Is it about that boy?" Chiyo watched her as they walked, seeing her face fall. "I see. Did you tell him how you felt?"

Rui shook her head. "No... I haven't gotten the chance... but maybe it's for the best after what happened..."

"Talking about it will help clear your head, dear girl. Sometimes, an outside perspective is what you need to decide what to do next."

Rui knew she was right and wrapped her arms around herself. "I told him I was returning how after the finals were over and he didn't take it well..."

"I see. And why do you think he was upset?"

"I don't know... we had just started being friends again, but I think..." Rui stopped and looked out through the windows. "I think he's afraid we'll be right back where we started..."

"Will you be able to stay in touch with your friends this time?"

Rui nodded. "Yeah, I talked to Mom about it the other night. She's happy with my progress and wants to give me that freedom. She said she should have a long time ago and she even apologized for shutting us away from the world."

"You have more than proven yourself to everyone here, Rui."

"I'm glad to hear that." Rui said, smiling at that. But her smile faded a bit and she sighed. "Granny Chiyo, what am I going to do about Katsuki..? He's so angry about me leaving..."

"What do you think you should do?"

"I want to fix things between us... I can't just leave things as they are now..." Rui looked at Chiyo, unsure of herself. "I want to tell him that I have feelings for him, but after what happened over the weekend... I don't want to make things worse by telling him... and final exams are tomorrow, so he needs to focus..."

"I think you should tell him before you leave and see how things go from there." Chiyo suggested. "If you would feel better about waiting until after final exams, then you should go with your instincts."

"You're probably right..." Rui replied, offering her a smile as Chiyo replied with, "Of course I am." She leaned down and hugged the old heroine. "Thanks, Granny Chiyo. I appreciate it."

"Any time, Rui dear." Chiyo returned her embrace, then patted her cheek and added, "Now, let's get some lunch."

As Rui and Chiyo continued on their way, Katsuki leaned against the wall just around the corner from them and processed what he had just unintentionally overheard. He had been wandering the halls, lost in thought until he turned a corner and saw Rui and Chiyo talking. He hadn't meant to stay and listen, but when he heard his name mentioned he couldn't help it.

'Rui has feelings for me..?'

Face palming before letting his head fall back against the wall, Katsuki sighed. "Damn it..."

Over the course of the week, while he had been avoiding Rui just as much as she had been avoiding him, Katsuki had really been trying to figure out why he was so upset seeing her with Izuku, why he hated hearing other guys talk about her, why he felt so protective of her, why she made him feel so at ease, and why he was so scared about her leaving again. And he was beginning to realize the answer to all of his questions, but he was running out of time- especially with the final exam being tomorrow.

'I need to fix things... I need to tell her...'

* * *

The rest of the day progressed more or less the same as it had all week and by the end of it, Chiyo insisted that Rui go home and enjoy her evening. On her way out Rui stopped by the teacher's lounge, finding her uncle sitting off to the side as he graded papers.

"Hey, Uncle Shota, you almost done for the day?"

Shota looked up to find Rui approaching his table. "Almost. I just have this last bit of grading to do. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm all done. Recovery Girl insisted that I go home instead of staying after to help clean things up."

"That's good; you've been working really hard lately."

"How long do you think you'll be?"

"Probably another hour or two, why?"

"Would you like to take that rain check on dinner?"

"Sure, that sounds good."

Rui smiled. "Great, I'll stop by the store on the way home, then." She waved to her uncle and made her way out of the school, heading towards the main gate of the campus. As she walked, she thought more on what Chiyo had said and wondered what she would even say to Katsuki.

'I really should wait until after the final exam to say anything to him... I don't want him to lose focus...'

As she descended the stairs to the sidewalk, she spotted Katsuki nearby with Eijiro and Denki.

'What if I didn't tell him at all..?' she wondered, hesitantly returning Eijiro and Denki's waves as she drew nearer. 'How much would I really regret it if I didn't..? Do I even want to find out..?'

"Hey, Rui, how've you been? We haven't seen much of you lately." Eijiro asked.

"I'm alright, just been busy in the infirmary. How have classes been?"

"Really tough with the final exams and all, but we're managing just fine."

"That's good. Hopefully you'll be able to relax after they're over and done with."

"Yeah, hopefully. So what're you up to tonight?"

"I'm having dinner with my uncle, so I need to stop by the market store on the way home."

"Nice, nice. What about this weekend? I hear you're leaving after the final exams at the end of your workstudy, but do you think you'll have time to hang out with us one more time before you go?"

Rui's heart sank a bit when she glanced over at Katsuki and saw the look he had. She offered Eijiro and Denki a smile and nodded, giving her reply as Katsuki's phone rang and he turned away to answer. "I'd be more than happy to make time for that. It'd be nice to be able to say goodbye to everyone before I have to catch the train back."

"Cool, we'll have to get together later then and come up with something awesome to do before you leave."

"Sounds good, just keep me posted?"

"Sure thing. We'll see you later, alright?"

Rui smiled again, this time one that was much more genuine. "Yeah, see you guys later." She started making her way towards the market, stopping only when she sensed someone behind her. She glanced back to see that Katsuki was following behind her and was unsure if it was intentional or just coincidental.

"What?" Katsuki asked, seeing her hesitating for a moment.

"N-Nothing, sorry..." Rui returned her attention to the task at hand and took a left at the next intersection, heading down the street a few blocks before reaching the market store.


	17. Chapter 17

"Let's see, I need mackerel... some beef, carrots, and potatoes... some cucumber... what else...?" Rui wondered aloud, counting the number of ingredients on her fingers as she stepped inside the store and started going through the aisles to find what she needed to make dinner. It was going to be a simple and traditional type of meal that consisted of saba shioyaki, nikujaga, sunomono, miso soup, and genmai.

Meanwhile, Katsuki was not far behind her and had grabbed a basket to do a little shopping himself- Mitsuki having called him to ask him to stop by the market to grab a few things for dinner.

'Mom said we needed enoki mushrooms, beef, shungiku, and negi.' he thought, going over the short list in his head.

He grabbed the enoki, shungiku, and negi, then made his way to the meat aisle. As he reached for the last package of beef, someone else did as well, and when he looked down at the person, his heart began pounding in his chest when he saw that it was Rui.

"Oh, um... sorry..." Rui said, withdrawing her hand. "You go ahead and take it..."

Katsuki watched her a moment, then noticed the other ingredients that she had in her basket. "You take it. You need beef for nikujaga. Mom's making sukiyaki, so I'll just grab pork."

Rui was surprised as he handed her the beef. "A-Are you sure..?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks..." She wanted to say something more, but Katsuki had already turned away and went down to the pork section for his last ingredient. Sighing, she made her way to the cashier's stand to check out. 'He seems... in a better mood right now... maybe I should wait for him and we can walk home together...?'

Katsuki grabbed a package of pork and went to check out, finding Rui waiting just outside of the store. 'What's she doing..?' He grabbed his bags and headed out the doors, stopping in front of Rui as she looked up at the sound of the doors dinging.

"I, um..." Rui cleared his throat and tucked her hair behind her ear, nervously. "I thought we could walk together, since we, uh... live across from each other..." She looked up at him timidly. "W-We don't have to talk or anything... if you don't want to..."

Katsuki studied her a moment, then gestured for her to follow him - taking the lead without a word as Rui hurried to catch up to him. They walked for several blocks in silence and it wasn't until they reached their street that a word was spoken by either of them.

"See you later." Katsuki said, making his way towards his house.

"Katsuki, wait..."

He stopped and glanced back at Rui, seeing her hesitation. "What is it?"

"I..." Rui looked over at him as he stood a few yards away. She wanted so desperately to fix things between them, but she was still too afraid that she'd mess it all up and she didn't want to take his focus away from exams. She sighed and averted her gaze. "It's nothing... never mind..." She started to walk towards her apartment building, stopping briefly to add, "Good luck tomorrow," before she hurried up the stairs and to her apartment.

Katsuki stood there, watching her disappear down the hall of her floor, and he sighed as he turned away to cross the street to his house. He opened the door, kicked off his shoes, took the groceries into the kitchen, and started emptying the bags.

"Thanks, Katsuki." Mitsuki said, turning to him. She noticed a change in his usual demeanor, though, and set aside the knife she was using. "Hey, you alright? What's wrong?"

Katsuki just shrugged, not wanting to talk about what was going through his head. "It's nothing. I'll be in my room."

Mitsuki watched him leave the kitchen and followed him to the foot of the stairs.

"Is Katsuki alright?" her husband, Masaru, asked.

"I don't know."

* * *

While Rui and Shota had dinner and talked about how the week had been going, Katsuki sat with his family for dinner. He couldn't help his curiosity as to what Rui could have been trying to say earlier and his parents watched him as he pushed around his food- their own concern for their son growing.

'Why can't she just say what's on her mind for once? Why is she so cautious?' he wondered as he helped clear the table after dinner and wash the dishes.

"Katsuki, can we talk?"

"About what?"

Mitsuki sidled up to her son as he set aside the last dish to dry. "About whatever is bothering you."

"It's nothing, Mom."

"It's not nothing, son, your father and I can see something is on your mind." Mitsuki leaned in a bit. "Is it about Rui?"

Katsuki didn't want to answer, but he knew that his mother would have her answer regardless.

"What happened, Katsuki?"

"Can we not talk about this?"

"Fine, if you won't talk to me, then you need to talk to Rui and fix things between you two. Before she leaves town again."

"There's nothing to say, she's already made up her mind."

"I don't care, you're going over there right now and you're going to talk to her." She handed him a plate laden with dorayaki that she had made too much of earlier that morning. "Take these over to her and talk to her."

"I don't even know which apartment is hers!"

"Unit 314. Now, take these and go."

"Ugh, fine, whatever."

Katsuki yanked the plate out of his mother's hands, earning himself a smack across the back of his head, and slid on his shoes before leaving the house- letting the door slam behind him.

He walked across the street and made his way towards Rui's building, climbing the flights of stairs to the third floor and searched along the hallway for unit 314. When he reached it, he raised his hand to knock and hesitated for a few moments before finally giving in and rapping on the hard wooden door. As he waited, part of him told him to just walk away and tell his mother she wasn't home while the other part of him screamed at him to stay and talk to her. Finally, after an agonizing minute or so, the door opened and he looked down.

"Oh, Katsuki. What are you doing here..?"

"My mom made too much dorayaki and asked me to bring you the extras." He handed her the plate, relieved to see a smile- as small as it may have been.

"That's sweet of her." Rui took the plate and could smell the sweet honey Mitsuki used in the recipe. "I'll be sure to thank her and bring the plate back over later." She glanced up at him, seeing the same hesitation she had been feeling for days. "Is... there something else you needed..?"

Katsuki sighed. "Ya, actually... could we talk?"


	18. Chapter 18

"Uh, s-sure, but it'll need to be quick. My uncle is still here."

Katsuki scooted back as Rui stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

"What is it..?" she asked sheepishly.

"I want to know what you were going to say earlier." he said, a bit more bluntly than he had intended.

"Oh... I just..." Rui sighed, fiddling with the plastic wrap covering the plate of dorayaki. "It was nothing really..."

"Why can't you just say what's on your mind, huh? Why do you have to always hesitate like this? Do you realize how irritating it is?"

Rui flinched a bit at his tone, but she stood her ground. "What about you? Why are you always so quick to jump straight to anger? Why are you always so abrupt and rude?"

Katsuki opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself before he said something else he would regret. He took a moment or two to calm down and gazed down at her as she peered nervously up at him- her bangs falling against her cheeks. "I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"What?" Rui didn't hear him.

"I said I was sorry, alright?"

Rui was shocked to hear him apologize, being reminded of how he used to apologize when they were kids. The only thing different was that this time it was dorayaki instead of her favorite cherry flavored candy.

"I shouldn't have gotten so upset with you about telling me you weren't staying, I should have known better since work studies are meant to be temporary. I just..."

Rui could see that he was really struggling to keep his emotions in check. "You just what..?"

"You were gone for so long and to have you show up out of nowhere again like that really messed with me. I got my hopes up that you would stay this time, that you wouldn't just disappear from my life again."

"Katsuki..."

Katsuki stepped closer to her, his tone much softer and his expression more relaxed. "Rui, I don't want to lose you again..."

"You won't lose me, Kacchan, I'll be able to write and stay in touch this time. I'll even try my best to come visit on the weekends as often as I can." Rui sighed. "To be honest, I've been worrying that I'd lose you again, too..."

"Why?"

"You've been so angry with me lately, I really thought I did something or said something wrong and I didn't know how to fix it..." she started to explain. "And I didn't want to leave without trying to make amends with you... I couldn't bear it if I lost you as a friend again, not when I..." She paused, wondering if she would come to regret the next words she was about to speak.

Katsuki reached up to touch her hand. "What?"

'It's now or never, Rui...' Rui took a deep breath. "I-"

Behind her, the door opened and Shota saw them standing there. He glared at Katsuki, who quickly averted his gaze, then put a hand on Rui's shoulder. "Rui, you need to take this call. It's your mother."

Rui looked back at her uncle, hurrying to take her phone from him when she saw the concern etched all over his face. She told Katsuki to hold on a moment, then put the phone to her ear. "Hello, Mom?"

As Rui went inside, Shota stood in the doorway and crossed his arms, glaring down at Katsuki. "Shouldn't you be preparing for tomorrow's exam?"

"Tch, shouldn't you be grading papers?"

Katsuki's tone touched a nerve and Shota's brow furrowed even further. "Listen here, Bakugo, just because we aren't in school does not mean that you can be a disrespectful little shit. And I suggest that you stop acting like a spoiled brat around my niece. You hurt her again, I'll see to it that you regret it for the rest of your days."

Katsuki balked at his threat, knowing full well that he meant every word. He kept his mouth shut and turned away, excusing himself.

Shota watched Katsuki disappear down the hall, then turned to go back into Rui's apartment. As he closed the door, Rui was just finishing up her call with Isane and turned to face her uncle.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah... I assume Mom told you what happened?"

"She didn't say much, just that she was hit by a stray bullet and was sent to the hospital."

"Apparently, she got caught up in the crossfire of some sort of turf war and a stray bullet grazed her arm. She said the doctor told her she was lucky it had only grazed her, that if it had gone any deeper it would have hit her brachial artery."

"Well, shit..."

Rui sighed, looking down at the plate of dorayaki. "Mom said that she's fine and that she'll be discharged soon."

"I take it then you will stay through the end of your work study?"

"Yeah, she said I shouldn't rush to come home over a silly scratch, so the plan is to still leave Sunday evening." She sighed. "I'm going to make some tea, would you like some?"

"Sure."

As Rui reached for the tea bags, her phone dinged and she checked her new messages.

"_Let's talk a bit more later, when you have time._"

"_We can talk now, if you'd like?"_

_"It's fine, you don't have to. You're busy with family."_

_"Are you sure? I don't mind. Uncle Shota won't be here for very much longer, so if you'd like maybe we can meet up at the park we used to play at after?"_

_"Sure, that works."_

_"I'll let you know when he leaves."_

_"Sounds good."_

Rui smiled at that, glad to see that things were looking promising between them- at least as far as mending their friendship went.


	19. Chapter 19

Rui and Shota visited for another hour before Shota went on his way. Rui set aside the remaining dorayaki- her and her uncle having devoured nearly all of them- and cleaned the plate before grabbing a sweater and heading across the street to Katsuki's house.

She knocked on the door, smiling as Masaru greeted her. "Hello, Mr. Bakugo, I wanted to return the plate Mitsuki sent over with the dorayaki."

"Oh, thank you, Rui. Would you like to come in?"

"Sure, if that's alright?"

"Of course, please."

"Is that Rui I hear?" Mitsuki called from upstairs. "How was the dorayaki?"

"It was delicious. My uncle and I nearly finished it all."

"I have more if you'd like!"

"I think I'm good, but thank you."

"My dorayaki can't be the only thing that brought you by." Mitsuki teased as she came down the stairs. "Are you here for Katsuki?"

"Yeah, we're supposed to go to the park for a bit."

"I see. Well, he's in his room right now, I can go get him if you'd like?"

"No need, Mom."

"Ah, Katsuki, perfect timing! Look who's here!"

"Hey."

Rui offered him a smile. "Hey. You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Katsuki turned to his parents as he pulled on his jacket. "I'll be back later."

"Alright, sweetie, just make sure you have your phone and your keys."

"I got 'em."

"Have fun you two and stay safe!"

"Yeah, yeah, see you later."

Rui bowed to his parents before stepping outside and she chuckled as Katsuki closed the door behind them.

"What's so funny?"

"You're so different from your parents, even as much as you look like your mother."

"Tch, whatever."

Rui chuckled again at the tone he used, glad to hear the sarcasm again over the irritation.

They walked a few blocks to the nearby park and Rui beamed as the memories started to come back.

"Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit!"

Katsuki smirked as she trotted over to the swing set and sat down, kicking herself gently into motion. He joined her at the swing set, leaning against the structure as he watched her.

"So what else did you want to talk about?" Rui asked after a few moments.

"I wanted to make sure we were good. You know... before you left."

Rui brought her swinging to a slow halt. "Yeah, me too..." She gazed up at the stars as they twinkled overhead. "I don't want to go, but..."

"You need to be there for your mom."

"Yeah..."

"Is everything going OK with her? You sounded pretty worried when you were on the phone with her earlier."

"She got hurt and was taken to the hospital, but she's OK and just got home before I came over."

"Must not have been too serious, then."

"I mean, she was grazed by a bullet on her way home from the store, but she got lucky. I'm just glad she's alright."

"Are you going home earlier than planned?"

"No, Mom said she was fine and insisted that I stay until I'm scheduled to leave."

"When are you leaving?"

"Sunday evening. My train home leaves at 6pm on the dot."

"Good, so then we have time."

"Time for what?"

"Time for you to say a proper goodbye this time, to everyone. That and I still owe you dinner."

Rui smiled at that. "Yes, you do." Then, thinking back on something Mina had said before at the movie theater, she really started blushing. "Kacchan, I-"

_*bzzz bzzz bzzz... bzzz bzzz bzzz...*_

Rui was cut off by the sound of Katsuki's phone vibrating in his pocket and she waited patiently as he took out his phone.

"It's Kirishima. He's probably freaking out about tomorrow."

"Go ahead and take it." Rui said, offering him a smile. She stood and wandered about the park playground a bit while Katsuki talked with Eijiro, sighing as she tapped a stone out of her path. 'It seems like there's always something that gets in the way whenever I try to tell him how I feel... maybe it is best after all that I don't say anything...'

"Sorry." Katsuki said, joining her.

"Eijiro worried about exam stuff?"

"Yeah, he asked if I could come over and help him cram for tomorrow."

"You should go ahead, sounds like he could really use the help."

Katsuki watched her a moment or two. "I told him I was busy and it could wait a bit."

Rui sighed, a soft smile present as she stepped closer to him. "Kacchan, it's OK. We can always talk later. Your friend needs you." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close for a moment.

Katsuki was surprised by the hug and hesitated for a moment before returning her embrace. When he did, he noticed that she smelled of cherries and peaches with a hint of jasmine. He looked down at Rui as she set herself back on her feet, his hands resting on her hips.

"You should get going before it gets too late." Rui said, blushing a bit as his hands came to rest on her hips. "Be sure to let your mother know, OK?"

"Yeah, sure." Katsuki watched as she stepped back and started making her way towards the park entrance. 'Damn it..! Stupid Kirishima..!' But he knew it wasn't Eijiro's fault, it was his own for letting her go again without saying what he needed to say. 'Why does it never seem like the right time to say anything to her..?'

While he sent his mother a quick message to let her know he was going over to Eijiro's place, Rui felt her shoulders sinking the further and further she got away from Katsuki.

'Damn it, Rui... you need to tell him... tell him how you feel... tell him that you... that you love him...'

She quickly made it back home and shut herself inside, sinking to the floor with her back to the door. 'I wonder how Mom and Dad felt when they first started seeing each other...'


	20. Chapter 20

_**SPOILER WARNING (just in case)**_

The following morning had everyone on edge as the final exam was set to begin. But there was a surprise twist for the first years of U.A. High: they would be paired up with another student in their class and together, they would face off against their teachers. The teams- in order- consisted of Rikido and Eijiro vs. Cementoss, Tsu and Tokoyami vs. Ectoplasm, Tenya and Mashirao vs. Power Loader, Team Shoto and Momo vs Shota, Ochaco and Yuga Aoyama vs. Thirteen, Mina and Denki vs. Principal Nezu, Koji and Kyoka vs. Present Mic, Team Toru and Mezo vs. Snipe, Minoru and Hanta vs. Midnight, and the final match was Izuku and Bakugo vs. All Might. But when Katsuki learned that he was paired up with Izuku, he was none too thrilled. His own anger towards him was bad enough, but he was still upset with himself for not saying everything he needed to say to Rui the night before.

Class 1-A and the U.A. teachers arrived at the uninhabited city; Class 1-A formed their respective pairs and the pairs went with their assigned teachers to their designated areas. Every U.A. teacher explained the test exercise win conditions- each pair must either handcuff their assigned teacher or one of them must escape the battlefield and the two optional win conditions must be accomplished within 30 minutes. By accomplishing one of the win conditions, the pair would win and pass the test exercise. The U.A. teachers would also be using super compact weighted bracelets, courtesy of Mei Hatsume from the Support Heroes class, to handicap themselves. Chiyo and Rui, monitoring the test exercise, began the test. Rui was worried about her friends, but this was a good test of their abilities and what they had learned so far during their time at U.A.

At the start of their match, Eijiro and Rikido rushed through the middle of the main street, hoping to rush Cementoss from the front. They believed they'd get a higher score for capturing him as opposed to running, but Cementoss cut them off from a great distance by creating a cement wall to block them off. They decided to try and break their way towards Cementoss from the front, Cementoss created more cement walls and Rikido ate his on-hand sugar supply to activate his Quirk. They both used their enhanced strength to break down and destroy the cement walls, continuing to strike every wall Cementoss built. However, their quirks worked on a time limit, unlike Cementoss, and they made a mistake by trying to defeat him with brute force. Rikido started feeling drowsy once the sugar began to wear off and Eijiro's hardening abilities started to fade while he punched more cement walls. Seeing this, Cementoss manipulated the walls surrounding them and trapped them inside a cement pit. He told them that they were weak in drawn-out fights and they needed to realize how far they could push their powers, then freed them both- only to find that they had both been knocked out. Having been defeated, Eijiro and Rikido failed the practical exam.

Next was Tsu and Tokoyami vs Ectoplasm- their match starting with Ectoplasm spawning his clones to surround them. He warned Tsu and Tokoyami that all the teachers were doing their best to crush the students as more of his clones appeared behind the duo and rushed them all at once. Tokoyami used Dark Shadow to throw Tsu to the platform above them and she used her tongue to pull him up to her level before the clones could reach him. Ectoplasm commended their teamwork and pursued them on the upper floors before creating more clones to cut them off. Tokoyami had a difficult time keeping dozens of clones from attacking him at close range, but Dark Shadow was able to take out the ones in front of him- at least until more clones appeared suddenly behind him. Tsu supported him with her tongue by striking down one of the clones, allowing him to defeat the other one behind him before turning to face the other clones. The clones evaded Dark Shadow and Tsu used her tongue to move her and Tokoyami to another level above them where they entered a corridor and were confronted by even more clones. Tsu used her mobility to get behind the clones and created an opening for Tokoyami to rush through. After defeating twenty-eight clones, the duo reached the escape gate- finding it guarded by the real Ectoplasm.

Upon seeing that they had reached him, he commended them for defeating the other clones before creating a gigantic clone to attack them. Ectoplasm used his Forced Internment Giant Bites Super Move to capture and trap them both inside the behemoth. Dark Shadow appeared from Tokoyami's body and tried to get through the gate, but Ectoplasm was able to keep it at bay. Seeing this gave Tsu an idea and she created a strategy to defeat Ectoplasm. At her request, Tokoyami recalled Dark Shadow briefly and gave him something from Tsu. Dark Shadow attacked again and Ectoplasm appeared to defeat it with a kick, however, Dark Shadow was able to handcuff Ectoplasm with a sneak attack and it was then revealed that Tsu had swallowed the handcuffs immediately prior to being swallowed herself by the Giant Clone. Tsu and Tokoyami's Quirk combination attack allowed them to pass the exam.

After Tsu and Tokoyami was Tenya and Mashirao as they faced off against Power Loader. The ground constantly collapsed in front of them as Power Loader dug through the ground, leaving Tenya to decide that their best course of action would be to escape. Mashirao gets on Tenya's back, feeling rather embarrassed by the way they look during their "fusion". Tenya activated Recipro Burst and outran the traps, leaping over the ground in front of him when it collapsed. Mashirao wrapped his tail around Tenya's leg and the latter uses Recipro Extend to send Mashirao flying towards the escape gate. Power Loader tried to cut Mashirao off, but he was able to keep him at bay with a swipe of his tail and fly through the escape gate, earning his team a passing grade on the practical exam.


	21. Chapter 21

_**SPOILER WARNING (just in case)**_

Next came Shoto and Momo against Shota- a match Rui was excited to see since she hadn't really seen her uncle in action before. At the start of their match, Shota stood over the city on top of a telephone pole, scoping the area for his opponents. Momo followed Shoto while he explained that the fight could be decided by who finds the other first. He asked Momo to start making things with her Quirk so they'd know when Shota was nearby. He planned to draw Shota towards him so Momo could escape. Momo had a plan of her own but wasn't confident enough to go against Shoto and remained silent. Shoto runs through the street and keeps his hand frozen as Momo continued to follow him and created nesting dolls while commending Shoto for his plan. He replied that it was nothing, but Momo believed that Shoto had more practical skills than she did even though they both got into U.A. on recommendations- reminding herself of what happened during the cavalry battle when she just took Shoto's orders. It was at this point that Rui understood Momo's lack of confidence when she heard how Momo had lost her match to Tokoyami. Suddenly, Shoto noticed that Momo wasn't making the dolls anymore and realized that Shota was right above them. Shota told them to act when they knew an enemy is near, which prompts Shoto to try to freeze him. Shota erased his Quirk and landed in front of him, advising him to prioritize evasion. He dodged Shoto's kick and the latter yelled for Momo to run. She hesitated for a moment before running and Shota voiced his disappointment with their plan before swiftly using his Capturing Weapon to wrap up Shoto and hang him from a light pole. He told Shoto that he was always going to catch him first because Shoto was the team's offense. Shoto boasted that he could easily free himself, but then Shota laced the ground beneath him with caltrops- earning himself a comparison from Shoto to a ninja. Shota replied that he was more prepared to defeat Shoto than the Hero Killer was and told him that his plan placed too much of the burden on himself and that he needed to trust Momo more. He then took off after Momo, leaving Shoto to mull over his advice.

Meanwhile, Momo panicked as she ran towards the escape gate, doubting every decision she'd made and found that she couldn't keep her composure enough to make new ones. Shota caught up to her, knowing full well that she lost her confidence after the Sports Festival. He wrapped her arm with his scarf and pulled her towards him, but Momo noticed that she could still use her Quirk and freed herself by creating a cylinder around her arm to create space. She then turned back the way she came and ran back towards Shoto, leaving Shota disappointed with her choice and wishing that he could help her get her confidence back. However, Shota knew that his job right then was to test Momo and attack her weaknesses, so he takes off after her once more. When Momo reached Shoto, she apologized for not escaping and Shoto warns her that their teacher was approaching- sending Momo into a panic. Shoto tried to snap her out of it and asked about her plan, apologizing for not asking earlier. Momo was convinced that her plan wouldn't work if his didn't, but Shoto argued that she was better suited to deal with this type of situation- revealing that he voted for Momo to be Class President because he thought she would be the best fit for the role. Momo took a moment to appreciate Shoto's advice, but Shota had caught up to them again and asked if she'd given up. With her confidence restored, Momo threw the nesting dolls at him- having hidden inside stun grenades. Shota swiped them away, but activated them and was momentarily blinded by the light. Momo took the opportunity to free Shoto from his bindings and told him that she had a plan to defeat their homeroom teacher, earning herself a smile from Shota.

Shota made his next attack and Momo moved Shoto out of the way- to which Shoto tried to respond with fire only to have it erased. Shoto followed Momo as she sprinted down the street and listens as Momo noted that Shota couldn't use his Quirk for as long as before because of his injuries from the U.S.J. Incident- adding that their victory was a matter of timing and that for the moment, they just needed to get out of his sight. Shota threw his scarf at them from above, but he couldn't keep their Quirks erased and Shoto countered with his signature move: Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall. Shoto blocked Shota off with the wall and asked Momo more about her plan. She started making her own version of their teacher's scarf and noted that since they were in a residential area, they must keep damage to a minimum and that Shota pursued them too fast because of how quickly he moved with his own scarf. Momo created a catapult and loaded the restraining bonds in it, then drapes them with cloaks before they ran out from behind the ice and straight towards the escape gate. Shota noted that he couldn't erase their Quirks while they're hidden, but he added that they were at a disadvantage as well and wraps one of them up with his scarf- only to find out that it was actually a mannequin. During the confusion, Momo tried to launch the catapult and accidentally missed the trigger. Shota backed off and Momo launched the restraining bonds at him- watching as they spread apart. Momo told Shoto to blast his flames and he shot out his fire beneath Shota, prompting the hero to wonder why Shoto didn't aim for him. Shoto's fire heated up Momo's creation and it tightened around Shota in an instant. Momo explained that she wove nitonyl alloy into the restraining bonds so that it would return to its previous form whenever it was heated. Shota silently commends his students as they handcuff him to officially pass the exam.

Rui was so proud of her friend and her partner and was impressed with everyone's ability to adapt to the situation and overcome the obstacles set before them- both personal and otherwise. She was excited to see the next match, but she needed to check in with her patients first.

After Shoto and Momo completed their match, it was Ochaco and Yuga's turn as they faced off against Thirteen. Rui missed most of their match but returned towards the end of the fight to see Yuga and Ochaco make a break for the escape gate. Thirteen caught them with their Black Hole Quirk and pulled them closer- Ochaco and Yuga hanging onto a railing for dear life as Thirteen inched closer. Yuga tried sending his lasers pulsing through his costume to surprise Thirteen, Black Hole broke it down along with Yuga's mask. Ochaco started to panic and wondered what Izuku would do in this situation. Rui and the others could see her suddenly get so embarrassed by whatever Yuga said to her that she let go of the railing- which surprised Thirteen and caused them to stop using Black Hole to spare Ochaco. Ochaco found herself in close quarters with her teacher and attacked with martial arts taught to her by the Battle Hero: Gunhead. Using Gunhead Martial Arts, Ochaco tackled Thirteen to the ground. Thirteen tried to raise their hand, but Yuga propelled himself onto it with his belly button laser and Ochaco handcuffed Thirteen- securing the victory for her team and proving herself to be a Mini Battle Hero.

Next up was Mina and Denki against Principal Nezu. Rui and the others watched as they jogged through Field Gamma and agreed to run from the principal. Denki suggested that because Nezu was small, he could just electrocute him if he finds them. Mina agreed that she should not try to melt the principal with her Acid, but they were interrupted when the structures around them suddenly began to fall apart- sending Denki and Mina into a frenzy as they booked it away from the falling debris. The person behind it was none other than Nezu himself as he sat in a crane while sipping on his tea. Nezu used a wrecking ball to destroy certain buildings to cause chain reactions throughout Field Gamma, his superior intellect allowing him to predict Denki and Mina's moves. They failed to realize while running away that Nezu is destroying all of their escape routes, leaving only one route available to them and find somewhere to hide for a moment. Mina asked Denki to zap their opponent but they still didn't know where Nezu was, so they made another break for the exit only to find that their route was cut off and are nearly crushed by more falling scrap metal. Mina melted the wall of a building and they ran into it, hoping to escape, but Nezu crushes the building almost instantly. Nezu's strategy proves to be too perfect for the tandem and Denki and Mina don't find the last open route to the escape gate in time and their time limit expired- earning them a fail on the practical exam.


	22. Chapter 22

_**SPOILER WARNING (just in case)**_

Up next was Kyoka and Koji facing off against Present Mic. As they ran through the forest, Kyoka told Koji that they should run for the escape gate and avoid Present Mic altogether, but Present Mic was already impatiently waiting for them there. He created intense soundwaves with his Voice Quirk that forced Kyoka and Koji to cover their ears from the pain, but Kyoka's Heartbeat Fuzz was able to cancel out Present Mic's Voice. Kyoka frantically asked if Koji could order birds to attack Present Mic, but he told her in sign language that the birds will get scared away by Present Mic's voice- causing Kyoka to realize that Present Mic was actually far more powerful than she anticipated. They start to run through the forest and Kyoka surmised that Present Mic was waiting at the escape gate, but then are forced to stop as Present Mic yelled that he was getting bored and they tried to hide behind a rock. Kyoka worried their teacher's screams might make them go deaf, but then she spotted an ant nearby and asked Koji if he could control bugs, however, Koji revealed that he was afraid of bugs and hid from his partner. Present Mic sent more sonic waves at them, forcing Kyoka to counterattack with her Heartbeat Fuzz Super Move. Her attack was only enough to cancel Present Mic's voice out for a moment, leaving the teacher unimpressed. During this, Koji admitted he didn't have a plan and Present Mic continued barraging them with sonic waves. Kyoka worried that they might not even find Present Mic before time ran out and pleaded with Koji to control bugs as she used her Quirk to reveal an insect nest. Present Mic's attack continued and Koji realized that his partner's ears were bleeding- leaving him feeling guilty that Kyoka got hurt. He found his resolve and told the bugs to attack Present Mic, causing them to travel through the ground where sound didn't permeate. They take Present Mic by surprise as they swarmed him as an army of bugs and he falls unconscious from the fright- leaving Koji free to carry Kyoka through the escape gate and pass their practical exam.

Following their match was Mezo and Toru vs. Snipe. Their match took place in a large corridor filled with stone pillars, and true to his name, Snipe forced Mezo and Toru to hide from his barrage of bullets. Toru worried that they wouldn't be able to move to the escape gate, but Mezo encouraged her and said that Snipe was just one man. He did admit, though, that escaping would be difficult because their only advantage was the weights Snipe was wearing. Snipe threw a smoke bomb and filled the area with smoke, providing the perfect cover for his advance as he drew closer to their hiding spot and shot down the pillar they're hiding behind. Mezo moved to another pillar and asked Toru if she was okay, but she had disappeared- making Mezo realize she'd taken off her clothes and gone into full stealth mode. Taking the opportunity to provide her with a distraction, Mezo decided to rush Snipe only to have him shoot at his feet to stop his advance. Mezo raised his hands and Snipe questioned if he was giving up- leaving him open as Toru acted quickly and handcuffed Snipe, securing the win for her team.

After them was Mineta and Hanta against Midnight. At the start of their battle, Minoru and Hanta searched the rocky terrain for their opponent, falling into the path of Midnight's surprise attack. Hanta pulled Mineta out of the way with his tape as Midnight got behind him to take off his mask before putting him to sleep with her Somnambulist Quirk. Hanta fell onto Midnight's boobs and then onto her lap, causing Mineta to cry blood in jealousy as he ran away from them both. Mineta stopped to analyze the difficulty of the situation, but Midnight interrupts him and cracked her whip at him. She said she was going to stay by the escape gate but her sadistic side made her pursue the young man- causing him to start running away as Midnight flailed her flogger whip his way. He ran behind a rock and revealed that he ran away because he knew about her sadistic side, that he had a plan to win by trapping her away from the escape gate so he could pass the exam. Midnight revealed more of her fragrance but Mineta popped out from behind the rock he was hiding behind wearing Hanta's tape as a mask- surprising Midnight as he went so far as to suffocate himself in order to resist Somnambulist. She tried to whip Mineta, but he threw his Pop Off balls at her and stuck her whip to the ground before continuing to throw the balls at Midnight and trap her in place with his Grape Rush special move. Midnight was impressed that Mineta was able to trap her far away from the escape gate and watched as he carried Hanta through the escape gate- earning their team the passing grade for the exam.

The whole time she watched Mineta and Hanta's match, Rui cringed at the level of jealousy Mineta had and she asked the others if that's how he always was. But her attention was quickly grabbed as Katsuki started to make his way towards the arena to wait for his match.

She ran to catch up to him for a moment, but she stopped and hesitated when she sensed the level of anger and hostility coming from him.

"What?"

"I-I just wanted to wish you luck and say that I'm rooting for you," Rui replied, trying to choose her words carefully.

Katsuki eyed her a moment, his eyes narrowed. He tried to keep his emotions in check long enough to mutter a thanks before turning away, but as he continued towards the arena, the anger just began boiling right back up again.

Rui watched him storm off and she worried that he wouldn't be able to keep a level head during the match. She waited until he disappeared from her line of sight to start turning back, stopping only when she saw Izuku heading towards the arena as well.

"Rui, you OK?" he asked, pausing when he saw how down she looked.

"Yeah... just be careful, Izuku, alright? Katsuki is not in a good mood. I'm worried he won't keep his emotions in check..."

"It'll be OK, Rui, I promise."

Rui smiled at that and hugged him. "Good luck, Izuku. I'm rooting for you both."

"Thanks."

Rui watched as Izuku hurried to catch up to Katsuki, but she couldn't help the nagging feeling in her chest that something was going to go wrong and they'd be seriously hurt.

'They are up against All Might, after all... please be careful, both of you...'


	23. Chapter 23

_**SPOILER WARNING (just in case)**_

Rui returned to the viewing room and stood with Chiyo and the others as they waited for the start of Izuku and Katsuki's match. Once the arena gate had opened, Izuku followed Katsuki down the street and nervously suggested that their team try to escape and avoid fighting All Might. Rui watched as Katsuki ordered Izuku to stop following him but Izuku continued pleading with his teammate to take a different route to the escape gate. Katsuki responded by shouting that he'll score higher if he defeats All Might.

'Come on, you two... get it together...' Rui thought to them.

As communication was proving difficult, Izuku continued to try and talk to Katsuki- only to have Katsuki smack him to the ground. He angrily demanded Izuku stop speaking to him and started to walk away, but Izuku asked him to wait and reconsider his plan. Irate, Katsuki continued to yell at Izuku and said he doesn't need his power to pass the exam and could win it all by himself.

'Katsuki, no... you need him to win... you have to work together...'

Chiyo glanced over at Rui as she watched with worry as her two childhood friends bickered. 'I wonder if she dealt with this a lot when they were children.'

Rui kept her gaze on the screen as Izuku yelled back at Katsuki, pointing out that shouting is why they never had normal conversations. But her worry only grew when All Might caught them off guard and destroyed the entire main road of the city with a Texas Smash attack. The shockwave created by Texas Smash sent Izuku and Katsuki flying back as All Might menacingly walked through the dust towards his students. He warned them to take the exam seriously or else they'd be sorry, all while surprising Izuku and Katsuki at how intimidating their teacher and hero could be. She watched as Izuku turned to run and tried to tell Katsuki to follow him, but Katsuki refused and All Might rushed towards him. Katsuki attacked with his Stun Grenade Super Move and jumped at All Might, only to have All Might grab his face. Rui's breath caught in her throat, but she was relieved to see that Katsuki didn't hold back and tried barraging him with his mini explosions. The blast didn't do much damage, though, and All Might slammed Katsuki into the ground.

'Katsuki..!'

All Might turned his attention to Izuku and managed to quickly get behind him. He taunted him and reminded him of the Hero Killer as Izuku activated his quirk One For All: Full Cowl and jumped away. Katsuki took the chance to jump at All Might at the same time and the tandem ended up running into each other in mid-air. Izuku still wanted to run while Katsuki only wanted to defeat All Might- admiring All Might too much to rush for a win. Katsuki recovered quickly and walked towards All Might, passing Izuku and ignoring his pleas not to fight.

Rui's heart sank a bit hearing Katsuki reply that he had to win because that was what a great hero did. She tried to keep her own emotions in check as she watched Izuku still trying to reason with Katsuki, even grabbing his shoulder. She watched Katsuki angrily tell Izuku to let go of him and she began to wonder if there was something she could have said before their match to help their situation. Suddenly, All Might called out to the pair used a broken fence to pin down Izuku from above before gut-punching Katsuki to the extent that he was sent flying and vomited while airborne.

"Granny Chiyo, he's taking this too far..." Rui said to Chiyo, looking at the old heroine fearfully. "He's going to seriously hurt them at this rate..!"

Chiyo's own concerns with how far All Might was taking the match were beginning to grow.

Rui returned her attention to the screen. "Come on, Katsuki... get up..!"

As Katsuki slowly recovered from the attack, All Might realizes that Katsuki's angry about the improvement in Izuku's skills and began to try and advise him that he still had much room to grow, and shouldn't waste his potential, but Katsuki shouted back at him that he'd rather lose than accept help from his former friend.

Hearing this broke Rui's heart because it meant that Katsuki had in fact seen Izuku as a friend. "Katsuki..."

All Might prepared to crush Katsuki but Izuku ran in and angrily punched Katsuki, yelling at him not to give up before quickly carrying him into an alleyway. All Might admitted aloud that he let his guard down and briefly complained about the heavyweights he was wearing while Katsuki elbowed Izuku in the back of the head as he ran down the alleyway- forcing Izuku to put him down. Izuku pleaded with Katsuki again, admitting that he didn't have a plan to run away from All Might or to defeat him. He asked Katsuki not to give up because he had always been the type of person who wins no matter what and added that the most amazing hero always won- just like Katsuki always used to say. Hearing this put Katsuki into a state of enragement as he was reminded of his own words. He yelled out and blasted the wall next to Izuku, telling him that there is no way they can get away from All Might without fighting.

Rui watched as Izuku started to argue but Katsuki loudly demanded he shut up before coming up with a plan to use maximum firepower on All Might and create some distance between them. He ran out of the alleyway to distract All Might, but All Might is unimpressed and believed it was a sneak attack. Rui could see that Katsuki was furious about having to work with Izuku, but she was shocked to see Katsuki cry out to Izuku as though to signal Izuku to attack. She watched with amazement as Izuku suddenly appeared behind All Might, equipped with one of Katsuki's Grenadier Bracers. She watched as Izuku pulled the pin and unleashed a massive explosion on his idol, but she gasped when she saw that the recoil from the explosion had injured his shoulder.

Katsuki began to fly away and ordered Izuku to run while he had the chance, but All Might speedily recovered and admitted that he was impressed with the team's compromise between running and fighting beginning his next attack. As Izuku and Katsuki rushed towards the escape gate, Izuku pointed out that the escape gate looks ridiculous but if they got through it, they would pass the exam. When All Might's next attack came, Katsuki noticed that it came from the middle of the replica city and it reached all the way to the gate. Izuku wondered why All Might wasn't pursuing them and Katsuki said that when All Might caught up, he'd blast him with the other Grenadier Bracer and try to give Izuku more time to reach the gate. But All Might overheard this and instantly appeared between them while mocking Katsuki before breaking both of the Grenadier Bracers with two swift punches and kneeing Katsuki in the chin- sending him flying into a building. Then he grabbed Izuku and slammed him into Katsuki when he flew back out. All Might pinned down Katsuki with his foot and pulled Izuku up by his arm, congratulating them for working together but reminds them that cooperation was a prerequisite and not an option.

"Granny, he's going to kill them! Please, do something! This is going too far!" Rui pleaded. She stared helplessly at the screen while Chiyo chastised All Might, growing angrier and angrier at All Might as he taunted Katsuki's strategy. Katsuki retaliated with a super explosion that blasted All Might away, wincing from the pain as he got up. He grabbed Izuku's mask and told him to prepare to fly before using an explosion to send Izuku flying to the escape gate. All Might used New Hampshire Smash to propel himself through the air and slammed his back into Izuku- sending him flying into the side of a bus.

"That's it, I can't stand by and watch this any longer!" Rui said, turning away from the screen and running out of the building, ignoring Chiyo's pleas to wait.

As Rui tries to reach the escape get as quickly as she can, Katsuki flew over using his explosions and took aim at his teacher- telling All Might that he couldn't win unless he went all out. He unleashed another super explosion on All Might and Izuku recognized the attack from the Sports Festival. Katsuki griped in pain, telling Izuku to run, but Izuku's back is messed up so it was difficult for him to move at all. Katsuki yelled at him to get moving and used more super explosions to keep All Might at bay while Izuku moved slowly towards the gate. However, All Might subdued Katsuki by slamming his head into the ground and asked him to stop fighting because his body was suffering. Katsuki replied by saying that he would never stop fighting because he wanted to win.

Rui reached the escape gate just as Izuku activated his quirk and charged at All Might, shouting at him to get out of the way before punching him with a smash of his own. She watched as Izuku grabbed Katsuki and did his best to drag him through the escape gate with him.

"Izuku!" Rui steadied Izuku as he tried to set Katsuki down, grimacing in pain.

"Rui...?"

Rui tried to smile at her friend through the tears that were brewing. "You did it, Izuku, you won."

"Is Kacchan...?"

Rui's smile faded and she looked down at Katsuki. "He's unconscious, but he's breathing..."

"Young Midoriya, you did well." All Might said, coming through the escape gate to join them. "I am not surprised that you saved Young Bakugo even though you could have just escaped. Your desire to save others is as strong as ever and there's not an obstacle that can stop you when you do."

"Shut the hell up, you monumental jackass."

All Might and Izuku both looked at Rui with shock as she glared up at the Number One Hero.

"Beg your pardon?"

Rui stood, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "You could have killed them! Do you even realize that?! Even with your heavyweights, you went too far, All Might! How could you?!"

"I-I..." All Might stammered, unsure of how to respond. He did not think Rui was the kind of person to explode like that. "It was all part of the test..." he tried to step closer to her, but Rui opened her hip flask of water and summoned a collection of ice shards- all of which were aimed at All Might.

"I don't care! Look at them!"

All Might fell silent and stepped back as Rui shot him another death glare- reminding him very much of her uncle- before kneeling down and beginning the healing process for Katsuki to try and stabilize him until help arrived.

"Rui..?"

Rui fought hard to get her emotions back under control. "It's fine, Izuku..."

When help arrived, Rui stayed next to Izuku and Katsuki, keeping up a water barrier and increasing the density- not entirely intentionally- to prevent All Might or anyone who was not medical staff from getting close.


	24. Chapter 24

After the final match, Class 1-A cheered from the monitoring room, but in the infirmary, Chiyo berated All Might for attacking Izuku and Katuski so hard.

Rui sat between her friends as Chiyo said, "Midoriya's back was horrible. I was barely able to heal it, even with Rui's help." She looked over at Katsuki as Chiyo added with a sigh, "Bakugo probably won't wake up for a while..."

Chiyo looked at Izuku. "For now, the two of you should stay here and rest."

"Y-Yes, ma'am, thanks again." Izuku managed.

As Chiyo left the infirmary, All Might sighed and turned to Rui. "You care a great deal about these boys, don't you?"

Rui nodded. "They were my only friends for the longest time. They meant everything to me." She reached over and held Katsuki's hand. "They still do."

All Might watched her for a moment, seeing her stroke the back of Katsuki's hand with her thumb. "You love him."

Rui smiled at that, but it didn't last very long. "I have since we were children..."

"Does he know?"

"I haven't told him..."

"May I ask why?"

"I'm leaving Sunday evening and I don't know what the future holds. I don't want to tell him how I feel if it means losing him as a friend. I fear that more than getting rejected."

"I see."

There was a long silence for a while until Rui looked up at All Might. "All Might, I'm sorry... about before... I shouldn't have let my emotions get out of hand like that..."

"It's alright, I understand. You know, you're more like your uncle than you may realize."

Rui managed to chuckle at that. "I'll take that as a compliment."

_*bzzz bzzz bzzz... bzzz bzzz bzzz...*_

"Oh, excuse me," Rui said, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Hello?"

All Might watched as Rui stepped off to the side to take the call, staying near enough in case Izuku or Katsuki needed her. He could hear the distress growing in her voice as she spoke and her voice catching in her throat as she fought back tears. When the call ended and she tried to stifle her sobs as she wrapped her arm around herself, he knew that she had just received some devastating news.

"Rui? Is everything alright?" he asked, approaching her cautiously.

"I *_sniff* _need to find my uncle..."

All Might offered her a hand up and helped her to her feet. "I'll go find him. You stay here with your friends, alright?"

Rui nodded, reaching up to dry her eyes as All Might hurried out of the infirmary. She kept her back to Izuku and Katsuki, but Izuku stirred when he heard her crying.

"Rui..? Is everything alright?"

Rui turned and shook her head. "I-It's my mom... she's..." She sank into the chair she had set in between his bed and Katsuki's, but her grief was taking hold and she couldn't hold back her tears.

Izuku tried to force himself to sit up so that he could comfort her somehow, but he was still in a great deal of pain so it was rather difficult. When he did, he reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned into him and sobbed into his chest, unable to quell her emotions as they poured out of her.

It didn't take long for Shota to come bursting into the infirmary and rush to Rui's side, but when he had, Rui had cried herself to sleep and Izuku had set her head in his lap.

"What happened?"

Izuku wasn't entirely sure, but he knew one thing for sure. "Something happened to her mother."

Shota's eyes widened and after what All Might had already told him, it didn't take him long to piece it all together. He reached forward and touched Rui's shoulder, gently shaking her awake.

"Uncle Sho..?"

Shota's heart sank; she hadn't called him "Uncle Sho" since her father had died. "I'm here, Rui. Do you think you can tell me what happened?"

Rui sat up and rubbed her eyes, sniffling as she set herself back in her chair. "I-It's Mom... the doctor said her condition deteriorated unexpectedly and they can't reverse the damage... I have to get home... I have to say goodbye before she..." Her head hung low as she fought back another onslaught of tears. "I have to say goodbye to the others, too... I can't just leave without a word... not like before..."

"Rui, you need to go," Izuku said, sighing. "Kacchan won't be happy, but he'll get over it eventually. Just like before."

Rui glanced down at Katsuki as he still slept, but she knew her uncle was right when he said they were running out of time. She leaned forward and kissed Katsuki's cheek, tears slipping from her eyes as she lingered as long as she could.

"Katsuki, I'm so sorry... I can't stay... I have to go..."

"I'll let him know what happened, Rui, I promise." Izuku offered.

Rui sniffled and nodded, turning to hug him. "Thank you, Izuku... I'm sorry I can't stay or say goodbye to the others..."

"I understand. The others will understand, too." Izuku smiled as reassuringly as he could. "You should go."

Rui nodded and stood, quickly leaving the infirmary with Shota. She gathered together as much water from the area outside of the main U.A. building and created her water board.

"You go on ahead, I need to grab a few things first then I'll meet you at your apartment," Shota said, hurrying off in one direction while Rui went the other.

Rui soared over the rooftops as swiftly as she could manage, but trying to concentrate on keeping the water board solid enough for transport was incredibly difficult in her fragile mental state.

She arrived at her building, landing on her floor and dissipating the water board before rushing to her unit. She quickly gathered her things, not bothering to grab anything other than what she had initially brought her first day back into town. As she made her way back down the hall, a banging came at the door. Thinking it to be Shota already awaiting her, she opened the door- only to find a very angry Bakugo panting in the hallway.

"K-Katsuki, y-you're awake...!"

"Going somewhere?"

Rui's chest tightened. "I-I have to leave now, Katsuki... I'm sorry, I wanted to wait until you woke up, but I-"

"Bull crap! You were just going to leave again without saying goodbye, weren't you?!"

Rui backed away as he advanced on her.

"Why is it that Deku knows what's going on before I do?!" Katsuki demanded- the desperation, hurt, and confusion strong as they muddled together with his words. "Do I not matter enough to you to at least get a goodbye?!"

"T-That's not true, Katsuki! I wanted to say goodbye! I didn't want to leave like I had to before!"

"Rui, I want you to stay..." Katsuki said, grasping her arms and looking down at her as his brow furrowed. "Please... don't leave me behind again..."

Rui's tears slipped free and her breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward to kiss her, but before he could, she put her hand up to his lips and shook her head. "I'm so sorry..."

Katsuki stood there as Rui pushed passed him and scaled the stairs down to the street where her uncle was waiting with a cab. When he pulled himself together, he grit his teeth and turned to go after her- only to reach the balcony of her floor just as the cab drove away.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

He turned and sank to the floor, his back leaning heavily against the wall as his face came to rest against his arms.

'Damn it..!'

He was so hurt and angry in that moment for several reasons, the main ones being that he knew he was being selfish in begging her to stay for his sake and that he had been trying for days to find a way to tell her that he was in love with her. And on top of that, he almost kissed her as though that somehow would have made her decide to stay.

'Shit...'

He knew that Rui had feelings for him, but having her stop him like that- while probably for the best- caused a strange feeling of rejection rise within him. And now, he may have lost that chance for good- not knowing when he would ever see her again.

* * *

As the cab pulled away from the sidewalk and started driving away, Rui chanced a glance behind them and saw Katsuki standing at the balcony with the same look he had had just moments before when he begged her to stay. She wanted so badly to stay, to tell him that she loved him, to be with him and with her friends, to live a happy life the way she chose to, but she just couldn't. Her mother needed her and she wouldn't abandon her, no matter how much it broke her heart to leave everything behind.

'He tried to kiss me...' she noted, her heart sinking even further than it had already. 'Does that mean...? Oh, Katsuki... I'm so, so sorry...'

Shota watched Rui break down crying and pulled her into his arms, knowing this was incredibly difficult for her. Aside from being about to lose her mother, he had seen how quickly she had taken to life in Musutafu, how quickly she had befriended his students as well as the other students of U.A., and he had seen how much she had grown to care for Katsuki.

'I'm sorry, kiddo...'

* * *

Back at U.A. as they awaited the final results of their exams, Class 1-A was surprised to find that Rui had gone home early but when All Might explained the situation to them, their hearts sank.

"Poor Rui..."

"Poor Mr. Aizawa. Wasn't her mom his sister?"

"Should we send her like flowers or something?"

"I don't know."

Rui's friends were unsure how they could show their support and offer their condolences, but they wanted to make sure that she knew that she wasn't alone.

Eijiro noticed that Katsuki was especially moody and when he tried to ask him what was the matter, Katsuki shot him a death glare and stormed off without a word.

Katsuki had woken up to learn that Rui was gone, but his anger had gotten the better of him and he didn't stay long enough for Izuku to explain why Rui couldn't say goodbye. He had thought of so many petty reasons for her to be leaving, his own fear of her rejecting him growing stronger- even though he knew she had feelings for him. But when he had returned to U.A. and listened to All Might's explanation, his heart sank. He felt like such an ass for not considering her feelings and being so selfish about begging her to stay. He felt like such an idiot for trying to kiss her even though he could tell she was distraught.

'Damn it...! I'm such an idiot...!'

He made his way to the tree he usually sat beneath when he needed a moment to himself and he sank to the earthy seat between the roots that he and Rui seemed to favor. He stared up at the failing light of day and sighed.

'Why do I keep screwing things up...? What's wrong with me...?'


	25. Chapter 25

Rui had reached the hospital, leaping out of the cab and rushing up to her mother's room.

"Mom..?"

Rui stopped just inside the doorway, her heart sinking at the sight of her mother's frail body barely clinging to life. She stepped into the room hesitantly and approached her mother's bed.

"Mom, it's me..."

Isane stirred at the gentle touch as her daughter grasped her hand carefully. "R-Rui...? You're here..."

"I'm sorry, Mom... I should have gotten here sooner... I should have just come home after your last call..."

"Hush... it's alright..."

"Excuse the interruption, but are you Rui?"

Rui looked up to see a doctor standing just inside the room. "Yes. What happened? What's wrong with her?"

Shota came into the hospital room just as the doctor began to explain that something had happened after Isane had been struck by the bullet that attacked her blood in a way they had never seen before.

"Your mother's lack of using her quirk for as long as it has been has made her quirk incredibly weak as a result and that already weakened quirk has been taking a toll on her body. We believe that the bullet she had been grazed by must have been contaminated somehow and once that contamination had entered her bloodstream, there was no stopping it. It attacked her red blood cells first, which caused her to faint from severe anemia, and by the time she had reached the hospital it had already started attacking her white blood cells. We've tried to give her transfusions, keep her on a fluid IV drip... we've tried everything we could think of to stop whatever it is going on with her body." The doctor sighed and continued, "Unfortunately, nothing we've been able to do has worked and her condition continues to deteriorate. Your mother has already crashed twice in the last hour."

Rui and Shota sat on either side of her, each holding a hand.

Isane tried to offer her brother a weak smile. "Sho, take care of Rui for me...? She's so close to finishing her studies..."

"I will..."

"I love you, Sho..."

"I love you too, sis."

Isane turned to Rui. "Rui... be strong for me, sweet girl. You've proven to me... that you are more than capable... of standing on your own... you are so much like... like your father..."

Rui leaned forward, trying to hug her mother as best as she could. "Mom, please... don't leave me..."

"It's going to all be OK... whatever happens... I am so proud of you... and your father would be too..." Isane did her best to return her daughter's embrace. "I love you so much... and I am so sorry I shut you away from the world... promise me... promise me that you won't do the same when I'm gone... promise me that you'll go out and be who you want to be... experience life as you choose to..."

"I promise..." Rui sat back, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you too, Mom..."

Isane reached up to wipe away the tears and smiled for her daughter one last time, closing her eyes and taking her last breath when Rui did her best to return the smile. Her hand fell weakly to the side and the EKG flatlined.

"Mom...?" Rui reached forward, gently shaking her mother's shoulder. "Mom, come on... wake up... please..!"

But Isane was gone and Rui collapsed onto the bed next to her mother, sobbing into the blanket. When the doctor and a team of nurses ran in to revive her, Shota stopped them and shook his head.

"Let her be..."

The medical staff understood and stepped out of the room, giving them space. Shota had been trying to keep his emotions in check, but seeing his niece so heartbroken was the last straw and he couldn't help but sink into the nearby chair and let his tears free.

* * *

After that, Rui began to shut down. She barely spoke a word to anyone, not even her friends when they tried to reach out to her, and she barely ate anything. Between her grief and guilt regarding her mother, her guilt in having to reject Katsuki when he tried to kiss her and the heartbreak she felt in having to leave everything and everyone she cared about behind, Rui was in a very dark place and needed time to cope with it all.

Shota took her in, giving her the guest room upstairs for as long as she needed. He took care of the funeral arrangements, as well, having Isane cremated and put to rest with her husband. The day of the funeral, after all of the ceremonial rites had been completed, Rui stood before the gravestone of her parents while her uncle and grandparents accepted the condolences and mourning gifts. She barely acknowledged anyone as they tried to speak to her, at least until her friends stopped by.

"Rui?"

Rui turned to find Mina's hand on her shoulder with Momo, Ochaco, Tsu, Izuku, and everyone else gathered nearby. She didn't say a word and simply broke down crying again as Mina pulled her into a hug.

"We're so sorry to hear about your mom..." Ochaco offered.

"We wanted to offer our condolences," Momo added, looking to Shota, "to both of you."

Rui meekly thanked each one of her friends as they offered her a hug. She was grateful for the support, but her guilt in leaving the way she did was beginning to take its hold.

One by one, each of Rui's friends hugged her and gave their condolences, then lit incense and offered up prayers while some placed their gifts of flowers around the gravestone.

Shota watched as his students did this and he was touched that they would take the time to be there to support him and Rui. Mitsuki and Masaru had even come by, but Katsuki was nowhere to be seen. He watched as one by one, they each left- Izuku being the last to leave.

"Rui, if you ever need anything, you can count on us," Izuku said, hugging her. "I hope you know that."

Rui nodded. "Thank you, Izuku..."

Izuku tried to offer her a smile, but he wasn't sure how convincing it would be. "Call if you ever need us, alright?"

Rui nodded, trying to return his smile. "I will..." Her smile faded quickly though as he turned away, leaving her alone with her remaining family.

"Rui, we should go, too, before it gets too late," Shota said, reaching up to touch her shoulder.

"I'd like to stay a bit longer..."

"Take all the time you need, kiddo... I'll wait for you at home."

Rui nodded briefly, turning her attention back to her parents' gravestone and soon enough, she was completely alone.

"Mom... I'm so sorry..." Rui's tears were renewing themselves and breaking free to trickle down her cheeks from puffy eyes. "I should have come home sooner... I shouldn't have been so selfish to stay like that... I'm so sorry..." She sank to her knees, bawling before the image of her mother as it rested at the base of the gravestone marker.

She sat like that for who knew how long, eventually crying herself to sleep. By the time someone had come to find her, she had rested her arms against the base of the gravestone with her head pressed against them.

"You dummy..." Katsuki said with a sigh, leaning down to scoop Rui up into his arms. He had come to at least give her flowers and try to offer his condolences to Rui, unsure if she would even accept them, but he had waited until everyone else had left. When he was sure no one was still there, he had made his way through the rows of gravestones until he found Rui- passed out in front of her parents' gravestone.

Katsuki carried her out of the cemetery, making his way towards the exit. He had found the address to where she was staying in her purse and carried her the whole way there, reaching up carefully to knock on the door before stepping back and waiting for someone to answer the door.

"What? Bakugo, what are you doing here?"

Katsuki looked up to see that it was Shota standing there. "S-Sorry, sir. I found her passed out; thought I'd bring her home."

"Up the stairs, third down on the left," Shota instructed, closing the door as he kicked off his shoes and climbed the stairs. He followed him up the stairs and stood in the hallway, watching as Katsuki gently set Rui down on her bed, grabbing a blanket from the foot of the bed and draping it over her. He watched him set the flowers he had held onto carefully as he carried her on the bedside table nearest her, then smoothed back her hair and sighed. "I'm sorry, Rui... for everything..." He heard him say as he leaned down, kissing her cheek before leaving her room and closing the door behind him.

Shota narrowed his eyes momentarily, looking over his students before sighing. "Thank you, Bakugo."

"Sure, whatever. Oh, and... sorry about your sister."

Shota watched as Katsuki made his way back down the stairs to the front door, slid his shoes back on and let himself out. 'You're a good kid.'


	26. Chapter 26

The following morning, Rui woke to find herself in her room at Shota's house. Confused, she sat up and slowly swung her legs out of bed- noticing the small bouquet of flowers placed on her bedside table.

'Hydrangea and violets?'

She picked up the card that had fallen from its place on the stems and opened it, finding a simple note accompanied by a piece of cherry candy- the candy telling her immediately who left the flowers for her.

"Katsuki..." She then understood the meaning behind the floral selection: hydrangeas for apology and violets for sincerity.

A knock came at the door and she looked up to see her uncle stick his head inside as he opened the door.

"You're up. How are you feeling?"

Rui stretched. "Alright, I suppose. How long was I asleep? How did I even get back here?"

Shota leaned against the doorframe. "It's nearly noon, so you slept for nearly sixteen hours. As far as how you got back home goes, Bakugo found you passed out in the cemetery and carried you back."

Rui looked down at the candy in her hand. "He did..?"

"He's a good kid, even if he doesn't always act like it." Shota sighed. "Are you hungry at all?"

"A bit, but right now I could really use a shower."

"There are fresh towels ready for you. I'll go start on some lunch. Take your time, alright?"

"Thanks, Uncle Shota."

"Any time, kiddo."

Rui stood and stretched as her uncle closed the door, going over to her bag to grab out a fresh set of clothes. She looked in the mirror briefly, seeing how sunken her eyes looked and how thin she was already starting to get. She sighed and went into the bathroom down the hall, letting the water warm up as she changed out of her mourning clothes.

Stepping into the hot water, Rui let it wash over her and cover her with its warmth- feeling her muscles relaxing. As she cleaned up, she thought over everything that had happened recently and wondered what to do next. Shota was her only living family, aside from the distant relatives she'd never spoken to or seen, so by default he would become her guardian. But he had enough to worry about with being a teacher at U.A. and the villain presence growing in the city.

'I'm close enough to finishing my studies... maybe I could find a job... get my own place in the city...'

She sighed, knowing things wouldn't be as simple as she'd like.

'What am I going to do...?'

Downstairs in the kitchen, Shota was wondering the same thing. He knew he'd end up becoming her guardian with no other family to turn to, but he worried that he couldn't give her a life she deserved to have.

'Shit...'

"Uncle Shota?"

He turned to see Rui standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a towel around her neck as she dried her hair. "Feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's not much, but lunch is ready."

Rui saw that he had just made a simple ramen meal. "It smells great."

They took a seat at the table and began their meal in silence, both thinking over what to do next. After a while, though, Shota looked at Rui and said, "We need to talk, kiddo."

"I know..." Rui sighed, setting aside her chopsticks.

"What do you want to do, Rui? Aside from our distant relatives, we don't have anyone else. You're welcome to stay with me, finish your studies, and I could help you get an internship or find work."

"You have your work as a teacher to worry about, though, not to mention the increase of villain presence in the city. I couldn't burden you like that."

"Kiddo, it wouldn't be a burden," Shota said. "I just worry about giving you a life you deserve..."

"What should I do, then..?" Rui groaned. "I still need to clear out the house Mom and I rented before the lease is up, I still have my studies... and you're leaving for the training camp this summer..."

"For now, you're welcome to stay here with me until you get things figured out."

"Thanks, Uncle Shota."

"Of course."

* * *

Later that night, Rui lay in bed staring up at the ceiling- unable to sleep. She turned on her side, looking at photos she had saved on her phone. She flipped through the ones of her mother, a sad smile present with each one until she reached the section of photos that were all of her and her friends.

'What do I do...?'

_*ding*_

'A text from Mina?' Rui read through the text, seeing that it was just Mina checking in with her.

'_Doing alright, it's just still a lot to take in.'_

_'It's never easy when you lose your loved ones. Especially when it's your parent. I'm here if you ever need to talk, girl, about anything. We all are.'_

_'I know... I just feel bad for not saying anything before I left...'_

_'Don't, we totally get it. You did what you had to do. Besides, it's not like we aren't ever going to see you again.'_

Rui paused a moment.

_'Right..? We will see you again... won't we?'_

Rui sighed. '_I'd like that, I mean you guys are my friends. I just... need some time.'_

_'If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know.'_

Rui thought a moment._ 'Actually, could I get your opinion on something?'_

_'Of course.'_

_'Uncle Shota is the only family I have left, but I don't want to be a burden on him. He has his job as a teacher, plus you guys are leaving for the training camp soon, and the villain presence has been growing.'_

_'Well... have you thought about living on your own again just like you did with your work-study?'__.'_

_'Do you think that's what I should do?'_

_'You're worried about being a burden, right? And I'm sure Mr. Aizawa is worried about you, too, for his own reasons. It isn't ideal, but it would solve your problems. At least in part.'_

_'I guess.'_

_'Is there something else you're worried about?'_

_'If I do that, I'll have to get a __job, too, not to mention my studies.'_

_'You do homeschooling right?'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'OK, well if you got a job it could be part-time until you finish your studies. I think there are some heroes that will even sign off on that sort of thing if you interned with them. It wouldn't be like your work-study with Recovery Girl, though.'_

_'That's true. I guess I'll have to look into it a bit more. Thanks, Mina, you've been a big help.'_

_'Any time, Rui :) Always happy to help when I can.'_

Rui smiled at that. '_You know, I think out of all of my friends, you're the one I've grown closest to.'_

_'Aww, that's so sweet! I'm glad to hear it! You know, when you're feeling better and we all have the time, we should go out for karaoke or something fun like that. Maybe just have a girls' night out.'_

_'Sure, I'd like that.'_

_'Perfect :D I'm sure I won't be the only one looking forward to it.'_

_'By the way, how is... everything between you and Bakugo? Everything alright?'_

_'Honestly? I don't know...'_

_'You never told him, did you?'_

_'No... I was going to after the practical exam, but...'_

_'You had to leave to be with your mom... I'm sorry, that must be really hard.'_

_'It's probably for the best... I don't think I could've taken the rejection on top of losing him as a friend...'_

_'I wouldn't worry about that. I've seen how he looks at you when he thinks no one else is paying attention. He's head over heels for you.'_

Rui thought back to the night he tried to kiss her, then how he carried her to Shota's place from the cemetery, how her left flowers for **_her_** to apologize, the little cherry flavored candy.

_'Rui? You good?'_

Rui smiled- her first truly genuine smile in a long time. _'Yeah, I think so.'_

_'Well, good, you had me worried there for a second :) Anyway, I need to be up early in the morning so I'll catch you later?'_

_'Sounds good, thanks again Mina.'_

_'Any time, girl. Night.'_

_'Night.'_

* * *

By daybreak the following morning, Rui had barely gotten any sleep after staying up nearly all night doing research. When the sun peeked through the curtains and shone on her face, Rui woke to find herself hunched over at the desk.

Groaning, she sat back and stretched, looking at the sunlight starting to illuminate the curtains.

*_knock knock*_

"Yes?"

"Morning, Rui. I need to stop by the school for a bit, but I'll be back later. Will you be alright 'til then?"

Rui nodded. "I'll be fine, Uncle Shota. When... you get back, could we talk?"

"What is it?"

"It can wait until later."

"It sounds important. I can stop by the school later." Shota came over to sit on her bed. "What's going on?"

Rui sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure if this is what would be best- given the situation and all- but I was wondering if I could just do what I did before. Live on my own during my work-study."

"You could if that's what you wanted."

"I know we need to look at Mom's will if she has one, but since you're the only family I really have left, I don't have anyone else to turn to. I don't want to be a burden to you, Uncle Shota; not after everything you've already done for me." Rui saw the look her uncle had and put up her hand. "Before you say anything, I know you wouldn't see me as a burden, but I don't want to add to your worry with everything else going on. I'd get a part-time job while I finish my studies or apply for a paid internship. I'll save up to get my own place. It'll be a lot like my work-study."

Shota sighed and glanced up at her. "You've really thought this out, huh kiddo?"

"I spent most of the night looking into it," Rui admitted, rubbing her neck nervously. "I just want to make things as easy as possible, for everyone."

"Is this what you really want?"

"I don't know, but..." Rui fiddled with her hair. "I've always been independent, even when Mom was still around. I had to be... I had to be so that I could try to make things easier for her."

"Rui, this is a big change for everyone and I promised Isane I would look after you." Shota rubbed his eyes for a moment, then looked back to her. "Regardless of the outcome, I will do what I can to keep that promise. Whether it's helping you find work or co-signing on a place of your own. I will support you, whatever you decide. But think about it a bit more? Really be sure that this is what you want."

"OK."

"Was there something else?"

"It's just a lot to process, you know?"

Shota stood and came over, leaning down to hug her. "I know."

Rui hugged him in return. "How long will you be gone?"

"A couple of hours, tops."

"I'll see you when you get back, then."


	27. Chapter 27

Rui sat on her bed, staring at the flowers Katsuki had left for her- the sun glistening off of the plastic wrapped around the stems.

'I really should thank him...'

She reached for her phone, skimming through her list of contacts before finding his- only to hesitate as she recalled what happened the last time she had seen him.

* * *

_"K-Katsuki, y-you're awake...!"_

_"Going somewhere?"_

_Rui's chest tightened. "I-I have to leave now, Katsuki... I'm sorry, I wanted to wait until you woke up, but I-"_

_"Bull crap! You were just going to leave again without saying goodbye, weren't you?!"_

_Rui backed away as he advanced on her._

_"Why is it that Deku knows what's going on before I do?!" Katsuki demanded- the desperation, hurt, and confusion strong as they muddled together with his words. "Do I not matter enough to you to at least get a goodbye?!"_

_"T-That's not true, Katsuki! I wanted to say goodbye! I didn't want to leave like I had to before!"_

_"Rui, I want you to stay..." Katsuki said, grasping her arms and looking down at her as his brow furrowed. "Please... don't leave me behind again..."_

_Rui's tears slipped free and her breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward to kiss her, but before he could, she put her hand up to his lips and shook her head. "I'm so sorry..."_

* * *

Rui sighed, setting her phone back down. 'What am I going to do...?'

She had wanted so badly to stay, to tell him that she loved him, to be with him and with her friends, to live a happy life the way she chose to, and she had promised her mother that she would do just that. But she still felt guilty about not noticing her mother's struggling sooner, for not coming straight home when she called to tell her what happened, for not saying goodbye the way she had intended on, for keeping Katsuki in the dark about how she felt about him, and for rejecting him.

'He tried to kiss me...' she recalled, her heart sinking even further than it had already. 'Why would he do that...? Unless... does Katsuki have feelings for me...?'

Rui put her face in her hands and groaned.

'Why does love have to be so complicated...?'

Sighing, Rui made her way downstairs and sat on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV. A lot of it was just typical cooking, game, or anime shows, but she froze when she saw the local news station's breaking news story.

'Oh my god...!'

"We are live at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall where the Police Force has temporarily closed down the mall in order to find Tomura Shigaraki, the leader of the League of Villains- along with the help of our local Heroes. However, after nearly an hour of searching, Shigaraki's whereabouts remain unknown. The call was placed by Ochaco Uraraka, a student attending U.A. High School, upon seeing her classmate, Izuku Midoriya, in the company of the villain as his hostage. Thanks to Izuku Midoriya's careful actions, collateral damage was kept to a minimum and no lives were lost. As a result of today's events, which is already being called 'The Hero Incident', the Police Force has decided to create a special task force in response to the League of Villains's actions."

As the reporter continued to drone on with what little information they still had, Rui grabbed her phone and called Izuku.

'Come on, come on, come on...!'

No answer. Rui tried a few more times, but still no answer. She dialed her uncle, hoping that he would have some answers.

"_Rui, now really isn't a good time."_

"Just please tell me that everyone is alright?"

"_I see you've heard about the incident."_

"I just saw the news report. I tried to call Izuku, but I can't get through."

"_He's making a statement with the police. Don't worry, Rui, everyone is fine; just a bit shaken."_

"Thank goodness..."

"_I need to go, Rui, but I'll be home as soon as I can._"

"OK, see you later." Rui hung up the phone, then dialed Mina.

* * *

Katsuki sat back with some of the others from his class as the police interviewed everyone about The Hero Incident. Izuku had been by himself when Tomura had approached him, and Ochaco had found them with Tomura's arm around him, but that was it. Everyone else from their class had gone off to do their own thing and get what they needed, so no one else saw anything. Not even the passersby had seen anything out of the ordinary.

Normally, Katsuki would be angry and bored, but his mind was elsewhere.

It had been nearly two days since he had seen Rui last and they hadn't spoken at all- given that she was passed out the whole way home.

'I wonder how she's doing...'

Katsuki glanced over at Mina as her phone rang and he heard Rui's name. 'She's calling Pinky?'

As he listened in on Mina's part of the conversation, he surmised that Rui had heard about the incident and was checking in to make sure everyone was alright. He sighed and leaned his head back to look up at the sky.

'Why do I get the feeling I won't see her again..?'

He glanced over at Mina as she finished her call and turned to the others who came up to her. He could hear them asking if Rui was OK and Mina's assurance that she was and just wanted to make sure that they were all safe and unharmed.

The way Mina talked about Rui, the way she had always talked about Rui and even how she interacted with her, made Katsuki feel a bit jealous. Mina and Rui had grown rather close in such a short time and he envied them for it. But his own anger, stupidity, stubbornness, and selfishness got in the way of him being able to have that with Rui.

"Damn it..."

* * *

Not long after Shota returned home, the family attorney stopped by to pay them a visit. They sat in the living room, going over the contents of Isane's will, where it was revealed that Isane had named Shota as Rui's legal guardian and left a substantial inheritance for Rui- money that apparently she and Hiro had been saving up from the day they had learned they were expecting Rui up until Isane's death.

Rui sat on the couch, processing the new information as Shota showed the attorney out and thanked him for his time.

"Kiddo, you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just..." Rui looked up at Shota as he came to sit down next to her once more. "Mom and Dad saved up all that money just for me?"

"Hiro and Isane wanted to make sure that you had enough for when you came of age and set foot out on your own. I knew they were saving, but I didn't realize it was this much."

"I'll be able to afford a nice place in the city with that kind of money. And it would more than cover my expenses until I could find work." Rui thought aloud.

"What are you thinking, kiddo?"

"Well... I still need to clear out our place before the lease is up next month, and get the rest of Mom's affairs in order."

"What about after?"

"After? I'm not sure..." Rui sighed. "I know you said I'm welcome to stay here with you, but you have enough to worry about and I've been pretty independent most of my life, so maybe I should look at getting a place of my own..."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"No, but I'm not sure of a lot of things lately." Rui looked at him and tried to offer him a smile. "I do think it is the best option given the situation right now."

Shota chuckled. "You are so much like your father that it's uncanny sometimes."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Rui replied, giggling a bit.

A few moments of silence passed before Shota spoke next, "When will you leave again?"

Rui sighed. "Tomorrow, I think. The sooner I can get back home, the more time I will have to take care of everything." She glanced up at him. "Plus, you're leaving for the training camp tomorrow, anyway, so it'll work out."

"Well, then, tonight let's enjoy our time together."


	28. Chapter 28

"Are you sure you're going to be OK?"

Rui nodded, hugging her uncle as they prepared to part ways. "I'll be fine, I promise. I need to make a quick stop or two along the way, but I'll call and let you know that I made it OK."

Shota returned her embrace and sighed. "If anything happens, call me. No matter what it is."

"I will, I promise." Rui stepped back and looked up at him. "You should go before the others get too antsy."

"Alright. Safe travels, kiddo."

Rui waved her uncle off as he took off to U.A. where the other teachers and the students were supposed to gather. She waited until the cab was out of sight, then turned and started making her way towards the cemetery. She weaved her way through the rows and made her way to her parents' gravestone.

"Hey, Mom and Dad. I'm leaving town again and just wanted to say goodbye before I did." Rui set a few incense sticks in the bowl and lit them, giving up a silent prayer before sighing. "It won't be the same without you, but I'll be OK. I love you both." She kissed her fingers and touched them lightly to the names of her parents before turning and making her way out of the cemetery.

Her next stop was one that she was hesitant to even make, but it needed to be done. She walked down the streets, following the curves of the pavement until she reached the Bakugo residence.

'He's probably already left for the training camp...' she noted to herself.

Taking a deep breath, and preparing herself just in case, Rui made her way to the front door and knocked.

"_Be right there!_" Rui could hear someone calling. She looked up to see that it was Mitsuki answering the door.

"Oh, Rui! How are you, sweetie? I'm so sorry about your mother..."

"I'm alright, Mitsuki. Thank you for stopping by the other day, I really appreciated it."

"Of course, Isane and Hiro were good friends of ours. It's such a shame they're both gone now."

"Yeah... but I'll be OK. Uncle Shota is my guardian now, so at least I have someone still, right?"

"You have more than just your uncle, Rui. There are many people who love and care about you."

Rui smiled at that. "I know."

"What are you up to now? If you're looking for Katsuki, I'm afraid you've just missed him. He left a little while ago for the training camp."

"It's OK, it's probably for the best." Rui rummaged through her purse and pulled out a handwritten letter. "Would you mind giving this to Katsuki for me? Whenever he gets back, of course."

"I'd be happy to, but..." Mitsuki noticed her luggage. "You're leaving again, aren't you?"

"I need to go back home and take care of a few things."

"You'll be coming back though, right? At some point?"

"Honestly, I don't know what my future holds... I just need to take things one step at a time..."

"Oh, Rui..." Mitsuki pulled her into a hug. "If you ever need anything, you just give us a call. Anything at all, alright?"

"I will." Rui felt her eyes tearing up a bit. "Thank you so much, Mitsuki, for everything you've done for me over the years. I can't tell you how much it means to me."

"Anything for you, sweet girl."

Rui readjusted her luggage strap. "Anyway, I should go."

"Safe travels, Rui."

As Rui made her way to the gate, Mitsuki called out to her and stopped her for a moment to add, "You know, he may be terrible at saying or showing it, but that boy of mine cares a great deal about you."

Rui paused a moment. "I really want to believe that..." She gave her a half-hearted smile and a final wave before summoning her water board.

Mitsuki watched as Rui took off on her water board and her heart sank. 'Good luck, sweet girl.'

* * *

_Dear Katsuki,_

_There's so much I want to say to you- so much that I've been hesitant to say- but with the way things have been going lately, I wonder if you would even listen._

_I'm sorry things ended up the way they did between us and I wish there was some way I could fix it; I just don't know how to._

_I wanted to thank you for the other day, for carrying me back and for the flowers, too. It was kind of you to do and very thoughtful. Thank you._

_I'm going back to Kurihama and I don't know when I'll be back. There is still a lot that I need to take care of there before I can do anything else and I need time._

_I'm sorry I have to leave like this, but at least this time I can say goodbye- even if it isn't how I imagined._

_There's one last thing I need to tell you, something I've been trying for days to say. _

_Ever since we were kids, I've had feelings for you. I used to think that it was just a simple, innocent playground crush, but getting the chance to spend time with you again has made me realize that it's so much more than that. I should have told you this in person, but you've been so angry with me the last few times we've spoken._

_I don't know what the future holds, but I do hope that you're still in it. I care a great deal about you, Katsuki, and I don't want to lose you._

_Good luck to you, I wish you the best._

_~Rui_


	29. Chapter 29

_**Four years later...**_

A mixture of the sounds of explosions and screaming sounded once again in Musutafu as yet another villain struck. It was a newer villain, one with a mutation quirk that gave him a very sabertoothed cat-like appearance along with the strength and stamina of a big cat. He was on a rampage and had already destroyed two city blocks, seeming to hope that he could impress the villain gangs in the area enough to where they would invite him to join their ranks.

Local heroes rushed in to combat the villain, who was calling himself Seibā, and split off into teams- well, all but one. While the support heroes rushed to get people to safety, the combative heroes tried to wear Seibā down and surround him- hoping that they could capture him before he did more damage.

"Get behind me!" a young heroine called as she leaped in front of a group of children.

"Sirona, watch out!"

The heroine was Sirona, a young woman who had a quirk of water that had been studying with Gunhead for a couple of years, and as one of her comrades called out to her she threw up a barrier of water to protect as many people as she could against the fiery explosion and debris. Once things were cleared, she lowered the barrier and used the water to form a large platform upon which she loaded the children and hurried them to safety.

"Thanks, Miss!"

"Good luck!"

The children waved at Sirona as she gave them a smile and rushed back in to help more people.

Sirona searched every street that she could, rushing in to help wherever she found someone trapped or injured. She'd ferry them out to the evac point where she had dropped the children off or she would summon her water to surround her hands as she healed the wounds as best as she could before getting the people to safety. This continued for nearly an hour and finally, everyone who had been trapped in the vicinity of the battle was at a safe distance away. Sirona made her way to where the combative heroes were and began healing the ones who were hurt the worst.

"Thanks, Sirona. What's the status of the civilians?"

"The civilians in the immediate and surrounding vicinity of the battle have been evacuated. Thirteen and the other support heroes are overseeing their safety and trying to quell the fires."

"Well, it's a good thing you're here; we could use that water of yours right about now."

Another explosion sounded and Sirona threw up a barrier to protect them from the falling debris, but some of the pieces were too strong and she couldn't harden or thicken the barrier quickly enough to stop it or even slow it down. Luckily, though, some of the other heroes were able to either catch the pieces or break them apart into smaller ones.

"Thanks, guys!"

"We need to put an end to this!"

"Get out of my way!"

Sirona looked up as that last voice called out, recognizing it. She watched as someone she wasn't expecting to see blasted his way over them and straight at Seibā as he came rushing towards them.

'Katsuki..?' Sirona watched as Katsuki Bakugo started pounding his fists into the villain, setting off a set of mini-explosions to throw him off balance. 'He's gotten stronger... and more focused..?'

"Sirona, we're good here."

Sirona looked at Death Arms and nodded. "I'll help put out-" She was cut off as Katsuki was sent flying straight towards them. "Watch out!" She summoned her barrier, surrounding Katsuki to provide a cushion.

"What the-" Katsuki looked at the water surrounding him in confusion but before he could find the person making his bubble, he was propelled right back towards Seibā and landed one final punch on the villain- finally knocking him out cold.

While the Police came to collect Seibā, the heroes that were present for the battle- most of them anyway- were able to catch a breather. Katsuki, however, was still steaming from the heat of the battle and he wanted to know who exactly put him in a bubble. He marched his way through the rubble and debris back towards where Death Arms and a few other heroes were.

"Hey, who put me in a bubble?"

"Hmm? Oh, that was Sirona."

"Who the hell is that?"

"She's sort of new to the field. If you're looking for her, I think she went to check on the civilians."

Katsuki made his way over to the evac point, wondering who the hell could have a quirk like that. But as he raked his mind and drew closer to the evac point, he found his answer- one that he was not expecting in the slightest.

* * *

Sirona had excused herself from the scene to check in with the civilians and make sure there were no others who needed to be treated. When she had reached the evac point, she was relieved to find Recovery Girl present and looking everyone over.

"Granny!"

Chiyo looked up, smiling when she saw Sirona hurrying over. "Well, look at you! You look wonderful, my dear!"

Sirona hugged the old heroine- her former work-study teacher- and smiled. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too. I heard that you were finally out in the field, how does it feel?"

"Honestly, nothing like what I was expecting."

"Miss!"

"Miss Sirona!"

Sirona embraced the children as the came over to hug her. "Easy, guys, you'll knock me over."

"Is it over?"

"Is that big mean cat man going to jail?"

"Yes, he's already been taken into custody. It's all over." Sirona replied with a grin.

"Sirona!"

Sirona barely had time to react as someone embraced her with full force. "Uravity?" She beamed at her old friend, Ochaco Uraraka. "Wow, it's been a long time!"

Ochaco hopped up and down with glee at the sight of her old friend. "When I heard you were here today, I could barely believe it! When did you get back in town?"

Sirona made to answer, but before she could the children got her attention and pointed to someone.

"Hey, Miss, who's that? He looks angry."

"Wow, he's scary..!"

Sirona watched as the children hid behind her and she turned to see what was the matter- her eyes widening when she saw who was standing there. "Katsuki..."

* * *

Surrounded by a group of small children was this Sirona chick. But as Katsuki drew closer, he noticed some very familiar things about her and stopped in his tracks when Sirona stood straight and looked at him.

"You...?"

Before him stood Rui Imari, aka Sirona. Her hair was much shorter, resting just above her shoulders, but just as blue. She was dressed in a costume consisting of a rouge pink dress with a single strap that sported a brooch, a bracelet at each wrist, rouge pink to melon orange-colored ombre boots that each sported three nodes, and a water flash dangling at her hip from a melon orange belt. She was a bit taller than the last time he had seen her and had filled out a bit more as well.

"Katsuki..."

Katsuki's eyes narrowed and he turned and stormed off, needing to sort through some things.

"Miss Sirona, is he a friend of yours?"

"He was once, yes..." Rui watched as his shoulders sank a bit and she sighed. 'Katsuki...'


	30. Chapter 30

Just as after every other battle, the press was going wild. Every hero was being interviewed about what had transpired and Rui found it difficult to focus when she saw Katsuki sulking nearby.

"Sirona, this is your first time back out in the field like this, how do you feel?"

"It's not what I thought it would be like, but thanks to the training I have received over the last few years I think I did alright."

"What do you think about the teamwork of the heroes here today?"

"I think given the situation, we did what was necessary and what we could to minimize casualties and limit any further damage to the city. We all know our strengths and our weaknesses and I would say that we were all able to adjust to the situation accordingly and worked well with each other."

"What are your plans now? Will you be joining an agency? Or will you be continuing on your own?"

"I've decided to return to Gunhead's Agency in hopes of continuing to grow as a hero."

Off to the side, as Rui was being interviewed, Katsuki was trying to avoid having to talk to anyone and watched her speak with the reporters.

'What the hell is she doing here?' he wondered, his brow furrowed as he tried to process how he felt about seeing her again.

It had been four years since the last time he had seen Rui and things did not end well between them. She had left to return home, leaving behind her friends and her uncle along with a letter to Katsuki.

As he sulked, he reminisced about the night that he found Rui's letter.

* * *

_"Katsuki, you're home."_

_Katsuki looked at his mother, seeing her face a bit sullen. "What is it, Mom?"_

_"There's a letter for you, from Rui." Mitsuki handed the letter to him._

_Katsuki took it with confusion and opened the envelop, pulling out the letter and reading through it._

_'Dear Katsuki, _

_There's so much I want to say to you- so much that I've been hesitant to say- but with the way things have been going lately, I wonder if you would even listen._

_I'm sorry things ended up the way they did between us and I wish there was some way I could fix it; I just don't know how to._

_I wanted to thank you for the other day, for carrying me back and for the flowers, too. It was kind of you to do and very thoughtful. Thank you._

_I'm going back to Kurihama and I don't know when I'll be back. There is still a lot that I need to take care of there before I can do anything else and I need time._

_I'm sorry I have to leave like this, but at least this time I can say goodbye- even if it isn't how I imagined._

_There's one last thing I need to tell you, something I've been trying for days to say._

_Ever since we were kids, I've had feelings for you. I used to think that it was just a simple, innocent playground crush, but getting the chance to spend time with you again has made me realize that it's so much more than that. I should have told you this in person, but you've been so angry with me the last few times we've spoken._

_I don't know what the future holds, but I do hope that you're still in it. I care a great deal about you, Katsuki, and I don't want to lose you._

_Good luck to you, I wish you the best._

_~Rui'_

_"Katsuki?"_

_Katsuki turned and threw open the door, running across the street to the apartment building. He scaled the stairs and pounded on the door to unit 314, but no answer came. _

_"If you're looking for the nice young girl that was staying there, she's gone home."_

_Katsuki looked at the old lady coming down the hall towards him._

_"Such a shame, she was such a sweet thing."_

_'She's gone...'_

* * *

"Hey, Bakugo, you're bleeding."

Katsuki looked at one of the heroes that were passing by, then looked at his arm where he felt stinging.

"Hey, Sirona!"

Rui heard her name called and looked over to see one of the heroes waving her over. She excused herself from the reporters and hurried over, ignoring Katsuki for the moment as best as she could. "What's up?"

"Bakugo needs some healing."

"No, I don't."

Rui looked at his arm. "Yes, you do, that looks a bit deep."

"I said I don't need your help." Katsuki pushed back from where he had been leaning and started walking away.

"Come on, Katsuki, let me treat your wound before it gets any worse," Rui said, hurrying after him.

"Are you deaf?"

"What is your problem?"

Katsuki stopped and glared at her as he turned to face her. "_**You **_are. You're gone for four years and just show up out of nowhere like it's no big deal. Again!"

Rui shot right back at him. "You know why I had to leave! And I came back as soon as I could!"

"Really? Four years later?!"

"I-" Rui sighed and looked away. "I didn't just get back... I've been back for a while..."

"How long?"

"A couple of years..."

"A couple of years... and I'm just now finding out?" Katsuki tsked and turned away. "What am I talking about, of course, I'm the last to know... I bet you told Deku you were back first, didn't you?"

Rui looked up at him. "Why are you being like this, Katsuki?"

"Like you care."

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't, you ass!"

Katsuki just ignored her and stormed off, leaving Rui conflicted. He knew their reunion, whenever it was going to happen, would not be an easy one. But this? This was not what he wanted and it pissed him off even more than he already was that he couldn't get around the mixed feelings of seeing her again.

Rui watched as Katsuki disappeared and sighed, more disappointed than angry.

"Rui? You OK?"

"I'm alright, Ochaco..."

"Hey, we're all getting together for drinks and karaoke later tonight. Everyone would love to see you."

Rui looked back at her old friend and offered her a smile. "I'd like that."

As they turned to rejoin the other heroes, Rui chanced a glance behind her and wondered what the future would hold if things were going to be like this between her and Katsuki.

'I shouldn't expect things to ever be the same...'


	31. Chapter 31

_**This chapter features the song We Are Warriors by Avril Lavigne and Can You Hear Me by UNSECRET Young Summer.**_

Rui walked to the karaoke bar from home, just wanting to relax after a rough day. Saving the day and helping people was nothing new to her, but seeing Katsuki after four years didn't go well.

'I don't know what I was expecting...' she thought to herself, sighing.

As she drew nearer to the karaoke bar, thunder sounded in the distance and she could feel the density of the moisture in the air thicken. She took a deep breath and smiled, having grown really fond of the rain and finding comfort in the smell of petrichor- in fact it was one of her most favorite scents.

"Rui!"

Rui smiled and waved, seeing Mina and Ochaco approaching the entrance. "Hey, guys."

"I heard you had a run-in with Bakugo," Mina said, her brow furrowed with worry. "How are you doing? You OK?"

Rui sighed. "I honestly don't know. It was nice to see him again, but... I don't know what I was expecting after leaving things the way we did..."

Mina hugged her. "It'll work out one way or another. Besides, you have us if you ever need to talk."

"I know, Mina." Rui smiled, hugging her best friend back.

"Now, let's get inside and have some fun!"

* * *

Katsuki trudged his way down the street, having been dragged out for drinks with Eijiro. Over the years, they had become best friends and Katsuki counted himself lucky to have such a good friend stick by his side for so long. No matter how angry Katsuki got or how many hurtful things he said or did out of anger, Eijiro stuck by him- finding a way to calm him down and make him see things from a different perspective.

As he made his way towards the bar Eijiro had invited him to, Katsuki could hear the crack of thunder sounding off in the distance.

'It's going to rain soon.'

He counted the seconds until the next crack of thunder, calculating how far away the storm was, and when he realized what he was doing, he stopped and sighed- reminded of that time with Rui when they went to see that horror movie four years ago.

'What am I doing...?'

"Hey, Bakugo!"

Katsuki looked up and saw Eijiro waving him over from where he stood outside of the bar.

"Hey."

Eijiro offered him his usually cheerful grin. "Rough day, huh?"

Katsuki shrugged. "I guess."

"Well, let's get some drinks and we can talk about it."

Katsuki followed Eijiro inside, seeing that the bar was also host to karaoke. "We're not going to be doing karaoke, are we?"

Eijiro chuckled. "Nah, not unless you want to. We're just here for the drinks."

Katsuki followed Eijiro to the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools. As they ordered their drinks and waited for the bartender, Katsuki could hear someone singing in the back as a door opened.

'Huh, they're not half bad.'

"Here you go, gentlemen."

Katsuki took his glass of whiskey in hand and felt the smokey, smooth caramel-colored liquor slide over his tongue. He sat there with Eijiro for a while, just talking about how their day went, until someone came up to the bar and to order some drinks.

"Hey, Toru, what's up!"

Katsuki looked over, seeing his old classmate Toru Hagakure standing at the bar next to Eijiro.

"Hey guys, I didn't know you'd be coming here, too."

"You here for the drinks or for the karaoke?"

"Both, actually. We have a room in the back. You guys are welcome to join us if you'd like."

"Sure, that'd be fun." Eijiro turned to Katsuki. "Wanna go hang out with the others?"

Katsuki shrugged. "I'm not singing."

"It'll be so great to have everyone together again! Well, most everyone that is."

Katsuki could feel how much Toru was smiling and followed Eijiro as Toru led the way to the karaoke room. As they neared the room, Katsuki could hear a woman singing and wondered who it was.

_"We'll pick our battles 'cause we know we're gonna win the war. We're not rattled 'cause we've shattered all of this before. Steadier than steal 'cause we're ready with our shields and swords. Back on the saddle 'cause we gathered all our strength for more. And we won't bow, we won't break. No we're not afraid to do whatever it takes. We'll never bow, we'll never break 'cause we're warriors, we'll fight for our lives like soldiers, all through the night and we won't give up, we will survive. We're warriors and we're stronger, that's why we're alive. We will conquer time after time. We'll never falter, we will survive. We are warriors, we are warriors."_

Toru opened the door and stepped inside, Eijiro and Katsuki close behind her. Katsuki looked at who was singing and saw Mina and Rui standing up on stage. As the door closed behind them, Mina had finished singing and Rui took her turn.

"Like Vikings we'll be fighting through the day and night, we'll be marching through the darkness till the morning light. Even when it's harder like the armor you will see us shine. No we won't stop and we won't drop until the victory's ours. No we won't bow, we won't break. No we're not afraid to do whatever it takes. We'll never bow, we'll never break 'cause we're warriors, we'll fight for our lives like soldiers, all through the night and we won't give up, we will survive. We are warriors and we're stronger, that's why we're alive. We will conquer time after time. We'll never falter, we will survive. We are warriors."

Katsuki leaned back against the wall, staying close to the door. He watched as Mina and Rui both sang the next part, seeing them both having a great time.

"Oh, you can't shoot us down, you can't stop us now, we've got a whole damn army. Oh, you can't break us down, you can't take us out, this will be behind us 'cause we're warriors, we'll fight for our lives like soldiers, all through the night and we won't give up, we will survive. We are warriors and we're stronger, that's why we're alive. We will conquer time after time. We'll never falter, we will survive. We are warriors."

Katsuki watched as Mina and Rui left the stage to give the next person a turn. He noticed that while Mina's style had more or less stayed the same over the years, Rui's had become a bit more mature. While Mina wore a black crop top under a yellow button-down shirt and jean shorts with black ankle boots, Rui wore a white off the shoulder top with royal blue leggings and white strappy heels. He watched as they sat back down with their friends- Ochaco, Tsu, and Momo among them- and saw how happy they seemed.

"Hey, guys, look who I found!" Toru said as she reached their table.

"Hey, Kirishima!"

"Hey, what's up?"

Katsuki watched as Eijiro slid right into a seat without a care in the world. 'Should I join them..?' he wondered, then noticed Eijiro waving him over. He sighed and went to join the others.

"What's up, Bakugo?" Hanta greeted.

"'Sup."

Rui glanced over when she heard Hanta say Katsuki's name, seeing him take a seat in the corner near their table. When she found his gaze, she looked away- unsure how to handle being around him.

"Hey, Rui, want another peach sangria?"

Rui looked to Mina and nodded. "Sure, that sounds great." She offered her friend a smile and watched her take the other orders of drinks before hurrying off to place them.

A few more patrons went up onto the stage and performed their songs, but Rui was lost in thought and didn't pay them much attention.

"Rui, you're up next." Ochaco said, leaning in and nudging her friend's arm gently.

"Oh, right."

Katsuki watched as Rui went up on stage, sitting back in his chair as she wrapped her hands around the mic as the song started.

"Calling out like a flair gun, drifting in an empty sea, feeling like a lonely one. I wanna know you're listening. If I'm talking to myself, I'm gonna find somebody else. Tell me can you hear me? I need you to hear me, screaming out so loud, but my words don't make a sound. Tell me can you hear me? Is anybody listening? Didn't wanna let you go, didn't wanna walk away with everything you didn't know, and everything left to say. I'm talking to myself, I'm gonna find somebody else. Tell me can you hear me? I need you to hear me, screaming out so loud, but my words don't make a sound. Tell me can you hear me? Is anybody listening?"

As Rui sang, Katsuki found himself admiring her voice and feeling the song hit a bit close to home. 'Why did she pick that song in particular?' he wondered. He watched as Rui left the stage, offering a smile to the next participant as she passed him on the stairs. He kept his gaze on her as she rejoined the group, taking a sip from her drink and talking with Mina and the others. When she shifted her gaze to him, he held it for a moment before looking away and taking another drink of whiskey.

After another hour of drinks and songs, everyone started to disperse and head on home- hugging each other and waving goodbye as they parted ways. Rui and Katsuki were the last ones to leave the bar, putting them in a rather awkward situation.


	32. Chapter 32

"See you tomorrow, Mina!" Rui smiled and waved as her best friend hurried off to catch the bus home. She turned towards her route home, stopping when she found Katsuki standing there. "Hey, Katsuki. How's your arm?"

"It's fine."

Rui wasn't sure how to take his tone, but she reached into her purse and pulled out a small jar. "Here."

Katsuki looked at the small jar that she presented to him. "What is it?"

"It's a poultice I made using some herbs I grew at home and the purified water I use with healing. You should take it, for your arm."

Katsuki's eyes narrowed. "I told you my arm is fine."

Rui flinched at his tone. "Just take it, alright?" She shoved the jar into his hand and stormed off. 'What an ass...'

"I don't need this," Katsuki said, following after Rui.

Rui ignored him and continued on her way.

"Don't ignore me, Rui."

Rui barely glanced back at him. "I can't talk to you when you're being an ass."

"I think I have a right to be an ass right now," Katsuki retorted.

Rui glared at him as he met her pace and walked beside her. "What makes you think you have the 'right'?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe the fact that yet again I'm the last one to find out what's going on with you? You've been back for two years and not once did you try to reach out."

"Because I knew that you'd act like this!" Rui pinched the bridge of her nose. "You always do this when things don't go your way...!"

"So what, you were just going to keep me in the dark forever?"

"No, I just-"

"You just what, Rui, hmm? Don't give a shit?"

"Ugh! See this is exactly why I was ignoring you! I can't deal with you when you're like this! No matter what I say, it just gets thrown back into my face!"

As they continued to argue, they turned down the same street.

"And would you stop following me?" Rui demanded.

"You're the one following me!" Katsuki retorted.

"No, you're the one following me!"

"Ugh, whatever!" Finally having enough, Rui summoned her water board and zipped off to get away from Katsuki and clear her head. "Stupid jerk..."

Katsuki watched as Rui took off and kicked a nearby stone into the bushes. "Damn it..!" He looked down at the small jar that was still in his hand and he sighed. 'Even though we're not on good terms, she still worried about my arm...' He sighed and continued walking home, just wanting to get home before the rain started to come down.

* * *

Rui made it home quickly and stepped inside her new apartment, slipping off her heels before weaving her way through all of the boxes- having just moved in earlier that day. She went to her bedroom and set her heels inside her closet, then fell back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

'Why is he such an ass...?' she wondered, thinking back on her argument with Katsuki. 'I miss when things were good between us...' She turned on her side and sighed. 'I wonder if things will get better...' Her phone dinged and she checked it to find a text from Mina letting her know that she made it home safe and hoped that Rui did too before the storm hit. Rui smiled and let Mina know that she had, her smile growing when Mina wished her a good night and looked forward to seeing her tomorrow.

Setting her phone aside, Rui decided to get some more unpacking done and started with her bedroom. As she worked, she selected a playlist of her favorite songs and set the earbuds comfortably in her ears. She unpacked her clothes and shoes, organizing them into her closet, then moved onto setting up her vanity table and her jewelry armoire. Once she had finished with that, she moved onto unpacking her bathroom stuff.

Another ding came from her phone and she looked to see a text from Ochaco, asking what she was up to tomorrow.

_'I'm going shopping with Mina tomorrow. I need some stuff for my new apartment. Would you like to come with us?'_

_'Sure, that'd be fun! We could grab lunch after!'_

_'Sure, I'd like that :).'_

_'Will you need help unpacking?'_

_'I've already done my bedroom and I'm almost done with the bathroom, but I'm saving the rest for tomorrow. I'd appreciate the help if you're offering.'_

_'Of course, I'd be happy to help! See you tomorrow then?'_

_'Yeah, see you tomorrow :).'_

Rui saw the time and figured it was time to get ready for bed, so she set her phone aside and drew herself a bath- tossing her clothes in the hamper before grabbing a towel and setting it near the tub. She sank beneath the warm water once her bath was ready and sighed with content, a smile growing as the pitter-patter of rain sounded outside.

* * *

Leaning against the wall of his balcony, Katsuki stared absentmindedly at the sky while listening to the rain. A light across the way came on and he glanced over, wondering when someone moved into that unit.

'Must have been some time today.'

He watched whoever it was moving around inside before coming out onto the balcony. When he saw who it was, though, his eyes widened. Standing on her balcony, directly across the way from his apartment - dressed in a silvery nightgown and robe with a towel around her shoulders as she dried her hair- was Rui. When they met each other's gaze, Katsuki could see that Rui was just as surprised as he was.

"Are you kidding me?" They both said, their surprise turning to anger or annoyance.

Katsuki watched as Rui glared at him and immediately went back inside, slamming the door shut and disappearing from his view.

'Of all people that could have moved in there, why did it have to be her?' he wondered aloud and sighed. He watched the main light turn off, a light in what he assumed was her bedroom lingering on for a moment before being shut off as well. 'Damn it...'

Katsuki turned to go back inside, sliding the door closed and locking it before falling back onto his futon and staring up at the darkened ceiling.

'Damn it...'


	33. Chapter 33

_*beep beep beep*_

_..._

_*beep beep beep*_

_..._

_*beep beep beep*_

Rui rolled over and groaned, reaching half-heartedly for her alarm clock.

_*beep beep beep*_

_..._

_*beep beep beep*_

_..._

_*beep beep beep*_

She kept searching with her hand, tapping until she found the device and hit the button. She let her hand slip down to dangle from the side of her bed, giving herself a moment or two to actually wake up. She begrudgingly got out of bed, pulled her robe on, and made her way into the kitchen to make coffee- only to realize that she hadn't unpacked everything for the kitchen and still needed to buy groceries.

"Ugh...!"

_*bzzz...bzzz...bzzz...*_

"_*yawn*_Hello?"

_"Good morning, Rui! Sorry did I wake you?"_

"No, my stupid alarm did. What's up, Mina?"

_"Oh, not much, just wondering if you wanna grab some breakfast before we go shopping?"_

"That'd actually be perfect. I still have to get groceries and I haven't unpacked the kitchen stuff yet. Oh, by the way, I invited Ochaco to go shopping with us."

_"Hehe, I know, she's with me right now! How long do you need to get ready?"_

"Um... like ten to fifteen minutes?"

"_Okie dokie, meet us at that little cafe down the street?"_

"Sure, sounds good. See you soon."

"_Yup, don't take too long!"_

Rui smirked as the call ended and she went back into her bedroom, going to her closet to pick out an outfit for the day- choosing a yellow button-up blouse with a light yellow to pink ombre skirt sporting a simple floral pattern and pink heels. After she got dressed, she brushed her hair and did her makeup before grabbing her phone and purse. Slipping out the front door, she locked the door and slid her keys into her purse, then made her way down the stairs to the street and started heading towards Luna Rose Cafe- a cute little cafe that had started making its name after opening a few months prior. It didn't take her long to reach the cafe and she grinned when she saw Mina and Ochaco sitting outside at one of the patio tables- drinks already ordered.

"Morning, ladies." Rui greeted them, hugging each as they stood and embraced her.

"Morning, Rui."

"I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and ordered your favorite coffee drink," Mina said, gesturing to the fresh cup in front of the open seat. "You sounded really tired when I called."

Rui hung her purse on the corner of her chair and took the mug of coffee in her hands, breathing in the sweet aroma before taking a deep sip. "Mmmm..." She sighed with content, blushing a bit when Mina and Ochaco giggled at the whipped cream on her lip. "Thanks, Mina, I needed this," she said, hurrying to lick away the whipped cream.

"Rough night?"

Rui sighed. "You could say that." She took another sip, then added, "You'll never guess who lives right across from me in the next building."

"Who?"

"Katsuki."

"No way, really?"

"Oof, that's gotta be rough, girl."

Rui lightly tapped the side of the mug. "Yeah... things are going to be awkward, that's for sure..."

"Is it because of what happened yesterday afternoon?" Ochaco asked.

"That's part of it," Rui replied. "I really should have reached out to him sooner, I just..."

"You didn't know how to after things were left the way they were when you had to go back to Kurihama."

"Exactly. And honestly, even if I had reached out sooner, I don't think things would have gone differently than they did yesterday. Katsuki would still be just as mad and just as stubborn."

"Well, at least he knows now, right? You guys can work things out and hopefully things can go back to normal or at least get better between you."

"You know, Ochaco, I admire your optimism," Rui said with a smile. "It's no wonder you and Izuku get along so well. Speaking of which, how are things going with you guys? It must be hard with him being so busy all the time."

Ochaco blushed as she grinned sheepishly. "Things are really great. Our three year anniversary is coming up really soon."

"Aww, that's great! I'm so happy for you guys."

"Hello, ladies, are we ready to order some food?"

Rui, Mina, and Ochaco looked up at the waiter and nodded, placing their orders.

* * *

Katsuki groaned as the sunlight shone through the curtain hanging over the sliding door and he rolled onto his side, checking the time on his phone and seeing a text from Eijiro.

_'Hey, what are your plans for today?'_

Katsuki blinked the sleep from his eyes for a moment, then replied. '_Not much until later today.'_

Katsuki rolled onto his back and stretched his arms above his head, then stared at the ceiling a moment.

_*ding*_

Katsuki looked at his phone, seeing a new text from Eijiro.

_'Wanna hang out?'_

_'Sure, what time?'_

_'Let's meet up at that cafe down the street from your place. Luna Rose? Say in like fifteen minutes?'_

_'Sure, just need to shower first. See you there.'_

_'Cool, see you then!'_

Katsuki sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his futon, yawning as he rubbed his neck before standing. He went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower, letting the cool water rush over his body- hoping to wake up a bit quicker- for a few moments before washing up. He shut off the water a few minutes later, grabbing the towel from nearby before going to the wardrobe next to the futon. He pulled out fresh boxers, then slid into a pair of jeans, a grey tank top, and pulled on a light jacket before putting on a pair of socks and grabbing his phone, keys, and wallet. He checked the time before sliding on his shoes and left his apartment, locking up behind him before descending the stairs to the street below.

As he walked, he glanced up at Rui's building and sighed. He still couldn't believe that of all people to move in there, it just had to be her. 'Tch, whatever...'

It was a nice day out, but a cool breeze blew through the streets so he was glad that he had brought a light jacket. The smell of petrichor hung heavy in the air still and it brought him comfort. After that evening with Rui when she had explained how counting the seconds between each crack of thunder, he had grown fond of the rain and of the smell of petrichor. It reminded him of happier times with Rui, but with that came the sadness and anger he felt about how things were left between them. Even after all that time, he still blamed himself for pushing her away and not telling her how he felt about her, especially after she had left that letter for him- the same letter that he kept tucked away in his wallet and the same letter that he would take out every now and then to reread.

He neared Luna Rose Cafe and saw Eijiro approaching from the other side of the street, hurrying over once the way was clear of oncoming traffic.

"Hey, man, how'd you sleep?"

"Like crap."

"Why? Did something happen when you got home?"

Katsuki sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it, alright?"

Eijiro knew better than to press him, but when he saw Katsuki stop just outside of the cafe and look towards one of the patio tables, he had a hunch it had something to do with who was sitting at that particular table. "It has something to do with Rui, doesn't it?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get something to eat and go."

Before either of them could say anything more to one another, Mina had noticed them approaching and waved them over to join them at their table.

"Good morning you two! Fancy seeing you here!"

"Hello, ladies! You're looking beautiful today."

"Aww, Kirishima, you're so sweet!"

Katsuki barely glanced at Rui as he sat down next to Eijiro at the table, but he did notice how pretty she looked in her outfit and with the way her hair curled a bit as it sat atop her shoulders.

Mina called over their waiter to take Katsuki and Eijiro's orders then looked to them with a big smile. "So, what're you two up to today?"

"Just hanging out, haven't really figured out anything yet," Eijiro answered. "What about you ladies?"

"We're going shopping!" Mina said.

"I still need to get some things for my new apartment and Mina and Ochaco offered to help me with that today," Rui added.

"Oh? Congrats!" Eijiro said with a smile. "Where are you living?"

"She lives in the building next to mine," Katsuki said, leaning back in his chair nonchalantly.

"Whoah, no way!" Eijiro looked between Katsuki and Rui. "So are you guys like neighbors or something?"

"You... could say that," Rui answered. "Our units are on the same level, across the way from one another."

"Cool!"

Katsuki was grateful when the conversation veered towards other topics of discussion, then even more so when everyone's food arrived. He ate in silence, chancing glances at Rui to see if she was feeling as awkward as he was in their current situation- especially after how the day before had gone.

After a while, everyone had finished their meal and the waiter was waved over for the check. Eijiro offered his help to Rui and roped Katsuki into tagging along and once the check had been paid, everyone headed for the bus stop to catch the next bus to Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. Eijiro, Mina, and Ochaco were hoping that this would be good for Rui and Katsuki- wondering if this would help them start mending their broken relationship- while Rui and Katsuki were wondering if this was such a good idea and hoped that they could be civil enough around each other for the sake of their friends.


	34. Chapter 34

The nice thing about the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall was that you could pretty much find anything you needed all in one place- clothes, accessories, books, school supplies, the works.

"It's been a while since we've been here together, hasn't it?" Mina mused with a smile.

"Yeah, it has," Ochaco added. "So, Rui, what's first on your list?"

Katsuki watched as Rui explained what she still needed for the apartment, wondering how she was going to get everything home even with all of them carrying things. When Eijiro voiced that same question, Rui answered that she could transport some of the stuff on her water board if needed while Ochaco offered to help carry what she could using her quirk.

"The rest I can have delivered," Rui finished.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Lead the way then!"

Katsuki followed after Rui and the others as they made their way from store to store- Rui's list of items consisting of dinnerware and cookware, linens, and a few kitchen appliances.

'That's not a whole lot of stuff. I wonder what else she would need?' he thought.

"Rui, look at these! They're so pretty!"

Katsuki watched as Rui and Ochaco ogling a traditional style tea set adorned with a peach blossom pattern over pastel blue ceramic. It had been years since he had seen Rui's eyes light up like that and it was nice seeing her like that again. He just wished he could be the one to do that for her instead of some silly trinkets.

"Are you going to get them?"

Rui looked to the shop owner. "Excuse me, is this tea set still available?"

"I am sorry, young miss, but I just sold it this morning. The new owner of this tea set is due to pick it up at any moment."

"I see. Will you be getting in any more?"

The shop owner shook his head. "Unfortunately, the craftsman who made this set has been ill and I am not sure when he will recover enough to make more."

"That's a shame." Rui sighed, but she offered the elderly man a smile. "Thank you."

"Of course. If there is anything else I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."

Katsuki watched as Rui and Ochaco went on to browse the other items before they all left the shop and thanked the shop owner on the way out, seeing the disappointment in her eyes even as she tried to hide it behind her smile as she usually did.

As they walked towards the next shop, Eijiro noticed that Katsuki wasn't with them and asked if anyone had seen him, but Rui, Mina, and Ochaco shook their heads. They started backtracking towards the shop they had just been in, nearly bumping into Katsuki as he sauntered out.

"Hey, man, thought we lost you for a second there," Eijiro said.

"Sorry, I had a question for the old man is all," Katsuki replied. "Where to next?"

Leaving things at that, they continued to the next few shops- Rui getting dragged off into a clothing store with Mina and Ochaco and leaving Eijiro and Katsuki to wait outside for them.

Katsuki sat with Eijiro while they waited for the ladies to rejoin them. He lounged against the back of the bench and stared up at the sky, drowning out the hustle and bustle of the crowded mall- reminded of the last time he had been to the mall with Rui. A half-hour or so had passed and Katsuki sighed.

'Sheesh... why did I even agree to go? I could've gotten what I needed anywhere else.' he wondered. 'This is so lame.'

"Katsuki? You alright?"

Katsuki was pulled from his thoughts and glanced over at Eijiro. "I'm fine."

"It's not often you get lost in your thoughts," Eijiro commented, chuckling a bit.

"Shut up." Katsuki groaned and stood as Rui and the others rejoined them. "Are we done here?"

"Yeah, just about. I just need to pick up groceries, then I should be all set until the rest of the stuff gets delivered." Rui said, nodding.

"Good, let's get going."

Rui could sense the tension in the air around Katsuki as he walked off, leaving her and the others to play catch up.

"Rui, you OK?" Mina asked, leaning in and keeping her voice low.

"I guess... I'm just wondering if it was a good idea having him tag along..."

"I'm surprised he hasn't blown up at anyone yet," Ochaco added in a hushed tone.

Rui watched Katsuki as he walked ahead of them with Eijiro. "Yeah, me too..."

* * *

It didn't take them long to return to Rui's apartment, catching the next bus back and walking the rest of the way to her building. Mina, Ochaco, and Eijiro offered to start unpacking and sent Katsuki and Rui off to the market for the groceries she needed- much to their dissatisfaction.

They walked in silence to the nearest marketplace and Rui grabbed a cart before going inside- Katsuki begrudgingly tailing her through the store. She went aisle by aisle, grabbing everything she needed from toiletries to produce and dairy. When they reached the meat aisle, Katsuki stood just behind her as she browsed the meat.

'Why would they send us off together like that? What's their game?' he wondered.

Katsuki noticed that Rui was trying to reach something just out of her reach and he made to grab it for her, but before he could she lifted herself up using water from one of the bracelets at her wrists. He withdrew his hand, stepping back as Rui set herself down and deposited the item into the cart.

"Need anything else?"

Rui looked through her list, then shook her head and glanced at him. "No, that's everything." She watched as he gave her a curt nod before he started heading for the door, going outside to wait for her to checkout. 'I shouldn't expect anything more than that, I suppose...'

While Rui checked out, Katsuki waited outside and looked up at the sky. It wasn't quite the evening hours yet, but the temperature was dropping a bit and the cool air helped calm his nerves. He wasn't sure why he was feeling nervous, or why it was mixed with anger; he just hoped that he could keep it under control so that he didn't make things worse between him and Rui. He looked over when the doors dinged and Rui stepped outside, her hands ladened with grocery bags. Without hesitating, he reached forward and took the heavier bags, then started walking back towards their buildings- leaving Rui to hurry to catch up and fall in step beside him.

They walked in silence once more, the awkward tension between them growing. Rui wanted to say something, anything, but she feared that she would just make things worse. She was pretty much already in the "dog house" so to speak with Katsuki and she was grateful that they reached her apartment quickly.

She opened the door and kicked off her heels, looking in awe at how much Mina and the others had already done. "Wow, you guys have been busy! Thank you so much!"

"Of course! We just need to get the rest of the kitchen stuff unpacked and put away, then we'll be done!" Mina said, beaming at her best friend.

Eijiro sidled up to Katsuki as he set the bags he was carrying on the counter and started unloading them. "So, you guys get a chance to talk?" he asked.

"There was nothing to say."

"Oh, come on, man. There must be something you guys could have talked about."

"Eijiro, leave it alone, alright?"

Eijiro looked at Katsuki, his brow furrowed with concern. "What's going on, Katsuki? I don't think I've ever seen you this conflicted before."

Katsuki paused and sighed, trying to keep his annoyance from bubbling up into anger. "Did you know she's been back for two years?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Seems like I'm the last to know... again..."

Eijiro was beginning to understand what was eating at him. "Oh... I'm sorry, man, I thought you knew; that's why I didn't say anything. And I know things between you didn't end that well, so I didn't want to drudge it back up."

Katsuki went back to unloading the bags. "Whatever, it's fine... not the first time it's happened... I'm sure it won't be the last..."

Eijiro watched him a moment and sighed. "Well, you know if you ever need to talk about it that you can come to me."

"I know." Katsuki looked up at him. "Thanks."

"Any time!"

"Hey, Eijiro, Bakugo! What do you guys feel like for dinner?" Mina called.

"Whatever is good with me!" Eijiro replied, looking to Katsuki. "What about you?"

"I need to get going soon, so I'll grab something on my own."

"Aww, you aren't staying?" Mina asked, sounding rather disappointed.

Katsuki glanced at Rui for a brief moment then returned his attention to Mina. "I've got plans for tonight, Pinky."

"Well, alright."

Rui came to the kitchen and started putting things away while Eijiro hurried over to help Mina and Ochaco with one of the more heavy boxes. She took the items as Katsuki passed them to her, wondering what she could say that wouldn't set him off.

"Um, thanks, Katsuki, for helping me out today. You didn't have to, and I know you probably didn't want to in the slightest, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

Katsuki looked at her, a bit surprised. "Sure, whatever. It's not like I had anything better to do today."

Rui sighed, a bit hurt by his tone but not surprised.

"Anyway, I need to get going." Katsuki put all the grocery bags together- stuffing them into the biggest bag- then made his way over to the front door to pull on his shoes.

Rui walked him to the door, watching him slip into his shoes. "Be safe." She offered, unsure of how he would respond.

Katsuki looked up at her when she said that, seeing her hesitation and the uncertainty in her eyes. He smirked and replied, "It's not me you have to worry about," before heading out the door and closing it behind him.

Eijiro popped his head around the corner when he heard the door. "Did Katsuki just leave?"

Rui nodded, turning towards him. "Yeah."

Eijiro noticed she looked a bit sullen. "You OK?"

Rui offered him a smile and nodded. "Of course. Now, have we decided on what's for dinner?"


	35. Chapter 35

Katsuki went back home, changed into his gym clothes and grabbed a water bottle before heading north to get some training in at the gym. He needed to take his mind off of the events of the day, especially Rui, and he needed to punch something. He put in his earbuds and listened to music as he walked, trying to drown out the city noise.

'Damn it... Why does she have to go acting like nothing happened? What is it with always doing that?' he wondered as he weaved his way through the evening crowds.

It wasn't long before he reached the gym and tossed his things into a free locker before going straight for the weight lifting equipment. He spent about twenty minutes working his muscles, then moved onto the treadmill to get in a few miles before finishing up with the sandbags to get in some boxing. As he moved from each station to the next, he found it rather difficult to keep Rui off his mind.

He was realizing that just like four years ago, the more time he spent with her the less angry at her he was feeling. He could see that she regretted how they left things and that she wanted to make amends but was hesitant and he couldn't blame her after the way he acted. But he had every right to be angry, after all, seeing as how Rui had been back in Musutafu for a couple of years and not once in the time since she left four years ago did she try to reach out to him.

'Damn it...'

He punched the sandbag, using a combination of jabs and hooks. The more he thought about what happened between them four years ago, the more upset he got and the more intense his punches got. He couldn't help but recall what happened that night after the final exams his first year.

* * *

_"K-Katsuki, y-you're awake...!"_

_"Going somewhere?"_

_Rui's chest tightened. "I-I have to leave now, Katsuki... I'm sorry, I wanted to wait until you woke up, but I-"_

_"Bull crap! You were just going to leave again without saying goodbye, weren't you?!"_

_Rui backed away as he advanced on her._

_"Why is it that Deku knows what's going on before I do?!" Katsuki demanded- the desperation, hurt, and confusion strong as they muddled together with his words. "Do I not matter enough to you to at least get a goodbye?!"_

_"T-That's not true, Katsuki! I wanted to say goodbye! I didn't want to leave like I had to before!"_

_"Rui, I want you to stay..." Katsuki said, grasping her arms and looking down at her as his brow furrowed. "Please... don't leave me behind again..."_

_Rui's tears slipped free and her breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward to kiss her, but before he could, she put her hand up to his lips and shook her head. "I'm so sorry..."_

_Katsuki stood there as Rui pushed passed him and scaled the stairs down to the street where her uncle was waiting with a cab. When he pulled himself together, he grit his teeth and turned to go after her- only to reach the balcony of her floor just as the cab drove away._

_"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"_

_He turned and sank to the floor, his back leaning heavily against the wall as his face came to rest against his arms._

_'Damn it..!'_

_He was so hurt and angry in that moment for several reasons, the main ones being that he knew he was being selfish in begging her to stay for his sake and that he had been trying for days to find a way to tell her that he was in love with her. And on top of that, he almost kissed her as though that somehow would have made her decide to stay._

_'Shit...'_

* * *

Katsuki growled and swung his leg into the side of the sandbag, landing a hard kick that echoed in the training room as his leg made contact with the sandbag.

He stood upright and caught the sandbag as it came swinging back towards him, steadying it before letting his head rest against it for a moment.

'I shouldn't be so angry with her, not after what happened that night. Her mom was dying in the hospital and I tried to take advantage of the situation like a selfish prick...'

Katsuki went over to his things and pulled out the water bottle and a towel to wipe away the sweat dripping down his face and neck. He drained a third of the bottle in one go, then sat down on the bench and thought a moment while he caught his breath.

'If it weren't for her letter, I wouldn't have forgiven myself for how I acted...'

Katsuki took the letter from his wallet and unfolded the weathered piece of paper.

"_Dear Katsuki,_

_There's so much I want to say to you- so much that I've been hesitant to say- but with the way things have been going lately, I wonder if you would even listen._

_I'm sorry things ended up the way they did between us and I wish there was some way I could fix it; I just don't know how to._

_I wanted to thank you for the other day, for carrying me back and for the flowers, too. It was kind of you to do and very thoughtful. Thank you._

_I'm going back to Kurihama and I don't know when I'll be back. There is still a lot that I need to take care of there before I can do anything else and I need time._

_I'm sorry I have to leave like this, but at least this time I can say goodbye- even if it isn't how I imagined._

_There's one last thing I need to tell you, something I've been trying for days to say._

_Ever since we were kids, I've had feelings for you. I used to think that it was just a simple, innocent playground crush, but getting the chance to spend time with you again has made me realize that it's so much more than that. I should have told you this in person, but you've been so angry with me the last few times we've spoken._

_I don't know what the future holds, but I do hope that you're still in it. I care a great deal about you, Katsuki, and I don't want to lose you._

_Good luck to you, I wish you the best._

_~Rui"_

Katsuki sighed, folding the letter back up and depositing it into his wallet once more. 'I doubt she still feels the same way as back then...' He stood and gathered his things, heading back out into the cool night air for the walk home.

* * *

Rui bid Eijiro, Mina, and Ochaco a good night after they had ordered pizza and she thanked them again for all their help. She looked around her apartment, grateful that it was finally all unpacked and organized- ready to start feeling like a home. She drew herself a bath and sat soaking for over an hour, thinking over everything that had happened since she had left Musutafu four years ago.

After leaving her hometown, Rui had spent nearly four months in Kurihama getting her mother's affairs in order. She sold most of their belongings, keeping only a few of the most valuable items- like their family heirlooms. She moved out of the house she and Isane had been renting once the lease was up, then used some of her inheritance money to rent a small apartment to live in while she finished with her studies. During that time, she had found out about Katsuki being kidnapped by the League of Villains and called Shota to see if she could help in any way but by the time she had, Katsuki had already been rescued and All Might had finally defeated One For All- retiring as a hero. She had debated whether or not she should check in with Katsuki, but in the end, decided against it given how things had been left between them.

The only person she kept in constant contact with- aside from Shota- was Mina. She checked in with the others every now and then, making sure they were all still doing alright and their studies were going well, but otherwise kept to herself. She focused on completing her studies and once she had, she took the necessary tests to officially graduate- graduating a year ahead of everyone else.

Once she had graduated, she started looking for work and was grateful that Shota and Chiyo were able to help introduce her to some of the heroes. In the end, she chose to work with Gunhead's agency after finding out that Gunhead and her father, Hiro, were best friends. Hiro had saved Gunhead's life and he had never been able to repay that debt to Hiro before he died, so he asked Rui to consider working with him as a way of repaying that debt and reconnecting with that part of his life. Rui was more than happy to accept, wanting to learn more about combative fighting from the hero known for his martial arts as well as learning more about her father.

Rui spent the next twenty months training with Gunhead and became his sidekick, going on missions with him and providing the support and defense needed in addition to giving the hero backup in combat as needed. It was a good fit for Rui and she learned a lot from Gunhead. When she had reached the twentieth month with the Gunhead Agency, her mentor ended her apprenticeship and graduated her to full hero status. It wasn't long after that she moved back to live in Musutafu and stayed with Shota until she was able to find a place of her own.

Rui sighed when she noticed that the water had gone cold and she was starting to get pruney. She pulled the plug and let the tub drain as she dried off and made her way into her bedroom to change into her nightgown. Thunder sounded nearby and Rui had to smile, grateful for another rainstorm. Once she was dressed and her hair was more or less dry, she made herself a cup of tea and went to sit on the balcony to enjoy the cool night air. She sat quietly for nearly an hour, the rainstorm hitting their part of town within a few minutes of her taking her seat, and just sipped her tea as she listened to the gentle droplets of rain as they bounced off of the buildings and streets.

She sighed in content, but the pangs of sleep were starting to pull at her eyes so she finished her tea and made her way back inside. When she reached her room and made to close the curtain over her bedroom window, she noticed Katsuki's light was on. She could see him moving across the room, a towel over his head.

'I wonder how long he's going to stay mad at me this time...' she wondered. 'Can we even fix things this time...?'

As Rui settled into her bed, Katsuki had looked outside and saw the curtain in her bedroom move. 'She's up late...' he noted to himself. He stood out on the balcony for a moment, enjoying the rain as he wondered how things were going to be between them now that they lived next to each other. He knew he couldn't stay mad at her forever, but he didn't know how to approach her to talk about what happened- or even if he could. He was so mad at himself for how he acted back then, but he was hurt that she hadn't reached out once- not even when she came back to town. He sighed and went back inside, locking the sliding door and turning off the lamp next to his futon before laying back and staring at the ceiling.

'Damn it... why do I still have to feel like this..? It's only going to complicate things more...'


	36. Chapter 36

The next day started off as any other day would. Katsuki threw himself into training and work, trying to keep his focus off of Rui as much as possible. Rui wanted to focus on really making her apartment feel like home, but she also had work to worry about as well. She was glad that she had gone back to Gunhead's agency, having not really enjoyed the solo hero gigs she had tried to take in the first few months after her apprenticeship. She was also grateful that Gunhead's agency headquarters had an on-site training center in addition to the dojo.

The morning had started off rather quietly, but then a call came in regarding a villainous trio robbing a bank. Gunhead took a few of the newer recruits for their field training and told Rui to hold down the fort while he was gone.

"But what if there's injured?" Rui asked, a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be going.

"From what the reports say, these are just some really low-level thugs with weak quirks trying to make a show of force. They're probably just trying to impress the big shots in town, like that Seibā moron the other day. If things get worse, we'll call in reinforcements I promise." Gunhead explained, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much, alright? We'll be fine."

"Alright."

Rui watched as Gunhead and the newbies hurried off, sighing as she turned back to her clerical work. 'Sometimes I feel like he's being a bit protective of me for Dad's sake.'

An hour or so went by and Rui had finished her work and moved onto to the dojo to get in some extra training. As she was walking herself through each move Gunhead had taught her and was so focused on her training that she didn't notice that someone else had come into the training room. When she turned and kicked at what she thought was air, her calf connected with someone's forearm as they blocked her kick.

"Katsuki? What are you doing here?" she asked, lowering her leg when she saw who it was.

"He's here to train, Rui," Gunhead said, coming up to them.

"Why?" Rui asked as she turned away and bent down to grab her water bottle.

"I've convinced Bakugo here to come work with us," Gunhead replied, smirking beneath his mask when he saw Katsuki averting his gaze when Rui bent over- as though he was trying to be polite instead of staring at her ass like a lecherous pervert.

Rui glanced back at Katsuki as he set his things down. "How did you manage that? Katsuki isn't exactly the kind of person that works well with others."

"This will be good for him. He needs to learn to focus his emotions better instead of just charging headfirst in like an idiot," Gunhead explained. "He has a lot of potential that he's just wasting and I felt that we could help him grow stronger."

"You know he only agreed because it'll help him rise through the ranks, right?" Rui pointed out, watching Katsuki for a moment as he wrapped his hands and feet. "I'll let you have the ring." She knelt down to gather her things into her bag and made to leave the boxing ring, but stopped when Gunhead mentioned that he wanted her to train with Katsuki. "What?"

"You're one of my best students and your water is a good match against his fiery explosions."

Rui raised a brow at him. "Uh-huh, and this wouldn't happen to be some scheme you've cooked up to test me?"

Gunhead laughed nervously. "W-What? Pfft, no of course not!"

Rui rolled her eyes but smiled a bit. "Sure, whatever." She looked over at Katsuki as he approached them.

"From what I just saw, you need a sparring partner," he said flatly.

"And you're offering?"

"So what if I am?"

Rui narrowed her eyes slightly. "I am not in the mood to play this game with you, Katsuki. If you have something to say, then just say it."

Katsuki smirked. "That's rich coming from you. You do that all the time."

Rui was getting more than annoyed at this point. She dropped her bag to the side and made her way to stand across from Katsuki. "Fine, let's spar."

Katsuki took his stance as Rui took hers while Gunhead stepped off to the side to observe their match. Rui waited for him to make a move, curious to see how their little sparring match would go since they had never faced each other before. Katsuki knew she was waiting for him, so he made the first move and lunged at her. Rui was quicker than him, but she wasn't as strong as he was physically- something he noticed right away as they moved quickly around each other.

Rui leaped back, landing in a low crouch, panting as she licked the blood coming from her lip.

"I'm impressed," Gunhead said to himself.

"Not bad," Katsuki said, smirking.

Rui narrowed her eyes at Katsuki as he made the comment. "Don't patronize me," she said, then lunged at him and took the offensive.

Their punches and kicks were quick- Katsuki surprised by Rui's speed- and Katsuki struck high and fast to test her defenses, but Rui blocked using her forearms to form a shield. Katsuki continued with a series of punches, smirking when the last broke her defense and grazed her side. Rui grunted, knowing there would be a bruise later, but she shook off the shock and grabbed his outstretched arm and using his momentum against him. Slamming him into the ground, she pinned his arm against his back and leaned down next to his ear.

"Not bad, Bakugo, but you'll have to do better than that to beat her," Gunhead called.

Katsuki felt a strange sensation run through his body as he felt the warmth of her breath on his ear and neck but being well-practiced in grappling, He was quick to overpower Rui and slipped out from underneath her with ease. Flipping her onto her back, he kept her trapped beneath him as he pinned her to the ground- smirking as she struggled to free herself. Rui was well practiced in this type of fighting style thanks to her combative training with Gunhead, but Katsuki was much stronger than her physically and she couldn't get free.

"Yield, Rui, this match is mine," Katsuki said, his soft puffs of breath warm against her neck and ear as he leaned closer.

A soft and low groan escaped her throat as Rui looked at him. "Like hell."

Katsuki shifted his weight and flexed his muscles in accordance with her struggling as a sense of renewed energy seemed to pop out of nowhere. "You're not going to win this."

Rui winced as he tightened his grip even further as she continued to struggle. Her cheeks burned as the feeling of his grip around her sent a strange sensation through her body. She huffed, trying to break free, but was only able to free her hands for a brief moment and she tried to push him away- beginning to get irritated with his taunting.

The moment he let go of her wrists to change his grip on her again, she forced herself from his grip and flipped backward, landing softly on the other side of the ring only to have him immediately on her again. She felt his leg smack the back of hers and she fell forward onto her stomach, dazed for a moment from the impact, but in that moment Katsuki was able to pin her arms behind her and trap her beneath him.

Rui's body was hot, and not just from the sparring. She felt strange, a burning sensation rapidly overtaking her body. She managed to get her head turned to the side and gasped as Katsuki put more weight down on her. She continued to struggle against him and managed to break free for a moment, but Katsuki was quick to pin her on her back and his forearms bore down on hers- pinning them to the floor above her head. He looked down at her, seeing a look in her eye that he had never seen before. Her pupils were constricting and dilating, her breathing as heavy as his own, and her body radiating heat his own. "The match is mine, you've lost."

Rui glared up at him, feeling beyond irritated- especially seeing that he seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. "Fine, whatever, you win..."

Katsuki let her up, falling back on his ass when Rui pushed him away from her. He watched her go over to her things and sighed. "You're quite the sore loser," he commented before standing to go to his things.

"And you're still as big of an ass as you've always been."

Katsuki turned towards her, seeing her struggling to get herself back under control just as he was. He looked over at Gunhead as he came back over to join them, but he barely paid the hero any attention as he commented on the match- his attention still on Rui as she stormed off.

'She's grown...' he thought to himself, surprised by just how much she had.


	37. Chapter 37

While Gunhead took Katsuki on a tour of the agency headquarters, Rui went off to the meditation room and sat down on one of the cushions. She tried to calm her nerves and her mind, pushing out the turmoil bubbling inside of her. As she did, she thought over the match and analyzed what she had learned sparring against Katsuki.

'He is a good sparring partner...' she begrudgingly admitted to herself. 'I didn't think we'd ever spar or train together. I hope I won't regret this...'

After about a half-hour of meditation, Rui felt much better and went to check in with Gunhead before heading home.

"Is there anything else you need before I clock out?"

Gunhead looked up from his desk and shook his head. "No, thanks to you the paperwork is all caught up. I have the newbies cleaning the dojo and the training equipment, so you're free to go."

"Alright, see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow. And good job today, I'm impressed with how much your combative skills have progressed. Your parents would be proud of you, especially Hiro."

Rui smiled at that. "Thanks."

"Go on now and stay safe going home, alright?"

"I will."

Gunhead watched Rui leave his office and smiled beneath his mask. 'She's grown so much, Hiro, I really do think you would be proud of her.'

* * *

Katsuki had stayed late at the agency headquarters to fill out some paperwork to make things official and put his earbuds in as he started the trek home. The night air was cool and welcome against his skin, helping to calm his nerves a bit more. As he walked, he thought over what Gunhead had told him just before leaving.

* * *

_"I'm glad that you accepted my offer. I truly believe that working here will be beneficial to you, Bakugo. You may even learn a thing or two while working here that you might not as a solo hero."_

_"I'm just here to get stronger."_

_"There's more to strength than the physical aspect, remember that." Gunhead stood and came to stand in front of him. "Look at Sirona. She hasn't exactly had an easy life up to this point, yet she's pushed herself to do better and to be better regardless of the obstacles she faces."_

_"What's your point?"_

_"My point is that Sirona has achieved a different kind of strength that makes her the hero that she is. __She works hard every day, going above and beyond the call of duty, worrying about others before herself. She's a prime example of what we strive to accomplish as heroes and what I try to teach those who come through my agency. She's one of my best students, one of the best heroes I've worked with. She's loved by her coworkers, she's loved by the city, and she's always there when you need her even if you don't realize that you needed her to begin with." Gunhead could tell that Katsuki already knew this, but he felt that reminding him would help him with whatever was on his mind. "Which is why I want you two to be partners from now on, for as long as you both work here. It'll be good for both you."_

* * *

Katsuki sighed, knowing that Gunhead was right about everything. 'That's just how Rui is... that's how she's always been...'

It didn't take him long to reach home, finding that he was only a twenty-minute walk away from the agency headquarters. He scaled the stairs to his level and took out his keys, unlocking his door and stepping inside. He kicked off his shoes, set his bag off to the side, and headed straight for the bathroom to take a long shower.

'Damn it... what am I going to do about working with her? Things are awkward enough as it is between us.'

Katsuki recalled their sparring match. 'And what was up with her during our sparring match? I've never seen that look in her eyes before... what was it? And what was that feeling I had?'

He sighed and turned off the water, grabbing the towel and drying off before going to his wardrobe to change into his usual sleep attire- a pair of shorts and a tank top. As he dried his hair, he opened the curtain and went out onto his balcony- stopping when he saw Rui's balcony.

'Someone's been busy.'

Rui's balcony had gone from barren with just a simple side table and chair to a green and lush oasis with plants and flowers. He could smell that a lot of the plants were herbs, but most of her plants he couldn't identify.

'When did she have time to do all this?' he wondered, remembering that her balcony was barren that morning. 'She must have gone to the store after work.'

Katsuki watched Rui come back onto her balcony, stepping up onto a stool to hang some faery string lights overhead. He had to smirk a bit seeing her struggle, being a bit on the shorter side even with as much as she had grown over the last four years.

'So Gunhead wants us to be partners, huh?'

Katsuki wasn't sure if Rui would like that idea any more than he did and he honestly thought Gunhead was joking at first. He noticed that Rui had spotted him out on his own balcony and he rolled his eyes when she stuck out her tongue like a child before going back inside and slamming the door closed.

'This is going to be such a pain in the ass...'

Across the way as Katsuki went back inside to make something to eat, Rui was grumpily making herself some peach jasmine tea. She tapped the counter in annoyance, wondering what Katsuki's problem was.

'Why is he being such an ass? And what was up with him during training today? I've seen a lot of looks from him before, but that one... that one is new. What was it? And why do I still feel like this? It was just another sparring match... wasn't it?'

Rui sighed, straining the water from the teabag and adding in the sugar before going over to her couch to put on a movie in hopes of taking her mind off of things.


	38. Chapter 38

Over the course of the few weeks, Rui and Katsuki continued to butt heads but did as they were instructed to and do paperwork together, spar and train together, go on patrols together, and when it came time for battle, Katsuki more often than not would take off to dive headfirst into battle, instead of acting as a bodyguard of sorts for Rui and any civilians she was getting to safety. By the time she was able to get to him, she would be fuming nearly as much as his quirk was and it led to more arguments between them.

On one particular occasion, Katsuki had charged in and left Rui to take care of the last of the civilians- barrelling into the fray. The villain they were dealing with was one that they had dealt with before: Seibā, who had escaped from prison and was back out on a rampage. Katsuki figured he would be looking to settle the score and was happy to give him the fight he came for.

Just as before, Rui searched every street that she could, rushing in to help wherever she found someone trapped or injured. She'd ferry them out to the evac point where she had dropped the children off or she would summon her water to surround her hands as she healed the wounds as best as she could before getting the people to safety. Once everyone was safe, Rui made her way to where the combative heroes were and began healing the ones who were hurt. When another explosion sounded, she threw up a barrier to protect them from the falling debris, but some of the pieces were too strong and she couldn't harden or thicken the barrier quickly enough to stop it or even slow it down. Luckily, though, some of the other heroes were able to either catch the pieces or break them apart into smaller ones.

As Rui thanked the other heroes, Katsuki came barrelling in, shouting, "Get out of my way!"

"You idiot, wait!" she called out, but it was no use as Katsuki started pounding his fists into Seibā, setting off a set of mini-explosions to throw him off balance as he taunted him. Then, like deja vu, Rui watched as Katsuki was sent flying straight towards them. "Watch out!" She summoned her barrier, surrounding Katsuki to provide a cushion.

"What the-" Katsuki looked at the water surrounding him in confusion before spotting Rui down below. He glared at her for a moment, watching as she glared right back before propelling back towards Seibā. He landed one final punch on the villain- finally knocking him out cold. He stood victorious over the unconscious body of Seibā, but he was still riled up. While the Police came to collect Seibā, Katsuki started making his way over to Rui- fully intending to give her a piece of his mind for interfering with his fight- but he stopped short of himself when he saw one of the civilians come up to her and start flirting.

'What the hell does he think he's doing?' he wondered angrily to himself.

As he watched them, he couldn't tell if he was angrier that it was another man looking at her or if it was because Rui seemed oblivious to the fact that he was flirting. The closer he got to them, the more he glared at the man, and by the time he had reached where they were standing, he was practically throwing daggers at the poor guy until he ran away in a panic.

"Um, bye?" Rui said, confused for a moment until she turned around and jumped a bit when she saw Katsuki looming there. "What the hell is your problem?"

Katsuki glared at her. "What the hell is yours? There's work to do and you're standing here flirting with some random guy."

Rui raised a brow at that comment. "I wasn't flirting and if you hadn't noticed already through that jealous rage of yours, I have been working. Working on saving civilians from the fires or debris, working on healing the wounded," she poked him in the chest, standing her ground, " and working on saving your sorry ass from seriously hurting yourself."

Katsuki was caught off guard by the ferocity in her retort, as well as how hot she looked when she was really angry. He didn't know what to say, so he stuck with his usual, "Whatever," and stormed off.

Rui sighed heavily and returned her attention back to Death Arms, who had broken some of the fingers on his left hand. "Sorry about that, where were we?"

Death Arms watched as she finished healing his broken fingers, thanking her as she stepped back and returned the healing water to its container. "Thanks, Sirona."

"Any time," Rui replied, offering him a smile. "If you don't need any more help here, I need to report into Gunhead."

"We should be good here," he said, glancing around. "Thanks to you, a lot of the damage was minimized. The fire crew can handle the rest from here."

"Alright, take care then," Rui excused herself and started making her way back through the rubble- irritated that it seemed to have doubled after Seibā's return to the city. "Geez, we've barely had time to recover from his last rampage..." she muttered to herself, looking around at the mess.

As she neared the evac point, checking in with Thirteen and the others before heading back to headquarters, Rui thought back on how Katsuki was acting. 'What the hell was that all about anyway? Why was he so upset? Why was he even jealous? It's not like he has any feelings for me...'

Not far ahead of her, Katsuki was trying to settle himself down. He had found a nice, quiet spot to calm down and was grateful for a moment alone after what happened earlier.

'Was I jealous? Is that why it bothered me seeing her with another guy like that?'

He leaned back, his head tapping against the wall of the building he was resting against.

'Damn it...'


	39. Chapter 39

Rui sat filling out the last of the paperwork at headquarters, wondering where Katsuki was. It had been nearly an hour since the big fight and he still hadn't shown up.

'That moron... leaving me to do his paperwork again...'

Finishing with the final form, Rui stacked the paperwork neatly together and placed it into a folder before setting it on Gunhead's desk. Stretching, she made her way towards the dojo to get in some training- hoping that would help ease her mind. She began by walking herself through each of her own techniques, moving her water as she worked through each Tai'chi move she knew. After a half-hour, she then moved onto what Gunhead had taught her and was so focused on her training that she didn't notice that someone else had come into the training room. When she turned and kicked at what she thought was air, her calf connected with someone's forearm as they blocked her kick.

"Where have you been?" she asked, lowering her leg when she saw who it was.

"Busy," Katsuki replied, his eyes narrowed.

Rui narrowed her eyes slightly in return, then lowered her leg and stepped back. "Next time you decide to pull the disappearing act, I'm not doing your paperwork for you."

Katsuki watched her a moment as she turned away. "I didn't ask you to do anything for me."

Rui was getting annoyed and bent down to grab her water bottle. "Well someone needed to do it and you were 'busy'."

Katsuki rolled his eyes and pulled off his gauntlets, setting them down with his bag before stretching. "Whatever, I'm here now aren't I?"

Rui glanced at him from over her water bottle. "Better late than never, I suppose. At least you showed up for some training unless you still need some along time?"

"Let's just get this over with," Katsuki retorted and took his stance.

As Rui took hers, Gunhead had returned and spotted them getting ready to spar- standing just outside of the dojo to observe their match. Rui waited for him to make a move, curious to see how their little sparring match would go since they had never faced each other before. Katsuki knew she was waiting for him, so he made the first move and lunged at her. Rui was quicker than him, but she wasn't as strong as he was physically- something he noticed hadn't changed as they moved quickly around each other.

Rui leaped back, landing in a low crouch, panting as she licked the blood coming from her lip.

"Not bad," Katsuki said, smirking, "but still not good enough to beat me."

Rui narrowed her eyes at Katsuki as he made the comment. "Don't patronize me," she said, then lunged at him and took the offensive.

As always, their punches and kicks were quick and Katsuki continued with a series of punches, smirking when the last broke her defense and grazed her side. Rui grunted but ignored the stinging in her side as she grabbed his outstretched arm and used his momentum against him. Slamming him into the ground, she pinned his arm against his back and leaned down next to his ear.

Katsuki felt that same strange sensation run through his body again as he felt the warmth of her breath on his ear and neck but being well-practiced in grappling, he was quick to overpower Rui and slipped out from underneath her with ease. Flipping her onto her back, he kept her trapped beneath him as he pinned her to the ground- smirking as she struggled to free herself. Rui was well practiced in this type of fighting style thanks to her combative training with Gunhead, but Katsuki was much stronger than her physically and she couldn't get free.

"Yield, Rui, this match is mine," Katsuki said, his soft puffs of breath warm against her neck and ear as he leaned closer.

A soft and low groan escaped her throat as Rui looked at him. "Like hell."

Katsuki shifted his weight and flexed his muscles in accordance with her struggling as a sense of renewed energy seemed to pop out of nowhere. "You're not going to win this."

Rui winced as he tightened his grip even further as she continued to struggle. Her cheeks burned as the feeling of his grip around her sent that strange sensation through her body- unsure how she felt about the growing familiarity of it. She huffed, trying to break free, but was only able to free her hands for a brief moment and she tried to push him away- beginning to get irritated with his taunting.

The moment he let go of her wrists to change his grip on her again, she forced herself from his grip and flipped backward- landing softly on her water board as she summoned it to cushion her landing. Summoning her water board threw Katsuki off, but she could see that he was getting fired up again at the sight of her challenge.

"Using our quirks, now, huh?" Katsuki chided sarcastically. His grin only grew, though, as he dropped into a low crouch and readied to launch himself at her.

Rui glared at him, but she met him nonetheless as he propelled himself towards her. She used the fluidity of her quirk to her advantage, swiftly moving out of his way and getting behind him. Catching him off guard, she fired a series of water balls at him and knocked him to the floor. As he slammed into the floor, she dropped down from her water board and pinned him beneath a blanket of heavy water.

"The match is mine, you've lost."

Katsuki glared up at her, feeling beyond irritated- especially seeing her look so smug. "Fine, whatever, you win..."

Rui smirked and let him up, releasing the water and letting it soak straight through to his skin. "Who's the sore loser now?" She turned and went over to her things, gathering them up before standing straight.

Katsuki pushed himself to his feet and turned towards her, marching over to where she stood with her things. When she turned around, she jumped at his close proximity. "Don't go thinking that you're better than me just because you won this time," he growled, his eyes narrowed.

Rui stood her ground, her smirk fading into a frown and a sigh. "I have never once thought I was better than you, Katsuki, and the fact that you would think I ever could, tells me that you're still as childish as always," she looked him up and down for a moment, then added, "even with as much as you've grown."

Before she could walk away, Katsuki reached up and grabbed her arm. "We're not done here, Rui,"

Rui glared at him and pulled her arm free. "Yes, we are."

Katsuki stood there, alone and left to muddle through his tirade of mixed emotions once again. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He turned and fired a blast at the nearest punching bag, lowering his fist and arm as it exploded. "Damn it..."


	40. Chapter 40

The walk home was filled with silence and internal grumbling for both Rui and Katsuki. Rui had finally won a sparring match against Katsuki, but it didn't make her feel better. Katsuki was still being an ass, acting as childish as he used to. Her arm still ached a bit from where he had grabbed her and she wondered why he had tried to stop, what he could have been thinking in that moment.

Meanwhile, Katsuki was struggling with the mixed emotions raging around in his mind. He had lost a sparring match against Rui for the first time, which impressed him a bit, but he still couldn't get over seeing her with another guy like that and it confused him quite a bit. He had thought that he had gotten over his feelings for her, but feeling jealousy like that was not only new to him but made him realize that maybe he wasn't as over her as he thought he was. When he thought back on how he handled things before she stormed off, Katsuki wondered what he was thinking grabbing her arm like that and trying to stop her from leaving.

'This is a mess...' he said to himself, running his fingers through his grimy hair as he walked home. He barely glanced up at Rui's apartment building as he passed by, just wanting to get to his apartment and get cleaned up.

While Katsuki was stripping out of his dirty clothes and hopping into the shower, Rui was just stepping out of hers. Once she was dressed and her hair was more or less dry, she made herself a cup of tea and went to sit on the balcony to enjoy the cool night air. She sat quietly for a while, sipping her tea as she listened to the soft chirping of crickets nearby.

As he showered, Katsuki recalled their sparring match. 'And what was up with her during our sparring match? She had that look again... but what was it? And what was that feeling I keep getting any time we spar?'

He sighed and turned off the water, grabbing the towel and drying off before going to his wardrobe to change into his usual sleep attire- a pair of shorts and a tank top. As he dried his hair, he opened the curtain and went out onto his balcony- stopping when he noticed Rui sitting out on hers, nestled behind the patio plants. He leaned against the wall, watching her a moment as he tried to figure out what to do. He wanted to fix things between them, somehow, and he wanted to move passed these mixed emotions- hating how they made him feel.

'But how can I do that...?'

Across the way, Rui finished her tea and stood to go back inside- stopping only when she noticed Katsuki lounging on his balcony. 'I don't want for things to continue as they are now, but how can we fix things? I understand that he's hurt that I didn't reach out sooner, but it's so hard to talk to him when he's like this. Should I let him come to me this time...?'

Sighing, she stepped back into her apartment and cleaned her tea mug before going to her room to turn in for the night- feeling rather beat after a long day.

Back on his balcony, Katsuki noticed that Rui had gone inside and sighed. 'Maybe Eijiro will know what to do...' he thought as he turned to go back inside. He fell back on his futon and grabbed his phone, sending Eijiro a quick text in hopes that he could provide some insight.

* * *

The following morning, Rui and Katsuki were in charge of training some of the new recruits to the agency. Gunhead left Rui in charge then went on to supervise a different training group that he himself was overseeing.

Rui and Katsuki butted heads a few times but tried to keep their personal issues out of the task at hand as best as they could. They divided their group into pairs, setting each of them up with a person they hadn't sparred against before to keep their senses sharp. It was working well, much to everyone's surprise, and by the time lunch rolled around, things were starting to look promising. That is until the same man from the day before- the one who had been flirting with Rui- showed up at the agency. Rui had excused herself from some of her coworkers and greeted him, learning that his name was Itsuki Moriyama.

Katsuki came out into the lobby and saw Rui with Itsuki, his somewhat good mood turning very sour at the sight of them together. He could overhear as he drew nearer to where they stood that Itsuki was inviting Rui to dinner later that evening and he glared at the man as he passed by them, heading out of the agency and out onto the street to grab some lunch from a nearby diner.

Rui wasn't sure why Katsuki seemed so upset seeing Itsuki there, but she accepted Itsuki's offer regardless and agreed to meet him at the restaurant around seven that evening. She sent Itsuki on his way and found that she was more surprised than anything to be asked out to dinner.

For the rest of the day, Rui noticed that Katsuki was noticeably more on edge and grumpy than he was earlier- and more so than she had seen him in a while. He avoided her, then disappeared after their shift was over. It bothered her a bit, but she didn't want it to ruin her evening and tried to push it out of her mind. She hurried home and got cleaned up, changing into a purple dress with three quarter length sleeves and a hem that hung just above her knees with matching heels.

As she reached the street, she chanced a glance up at Katsuki's balcony and sighed. 'I hope this doesn't continue... this is becoming exhausting... hopefully dinner will take my mind off of things, though.'


	41. Chapter 41

Katsuki walked around town, trying to clear his head. He wanted to forget about Rui getting hit on by another guy, about her accepting his invitation to dinner, everything. The more he tried to push it out of his mind, though, the more he thought about it and the more it bothered him.

His phone started to vibrate in his pocket and when he looked to see who it was, he saw that it was Eijiro calling.

"What do you want, Eijiro?"

_"Dude, I gotta tell you something but you gotta promise you won't get too upset."_

"Just spit it out, alright?"

_"I just saw Rui at Kusanagi Diner with some random guy and I'm telling you, it looked like a date."_

Katsuki stopped in his tracks. 'Kusanagi isn't far from here.'

_"Bakugo? You still there?"_

"You're sure it was her?"

_"I'm sure, I mean that blue hair of hers is kinda hard to mistake." _Eijiro paused a moment before continuing. _"You're kinda scaring me, you good?"_

"I'm fine," Katsuki replied, having gone silent for a moment while trying to keep his emotions in check and avoid a public outburst. "I gotta go, but, thanks..."

_"Uh, sure, no problem. Talk to you later, and don't do anything stupid?"_

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Katsuki said, then hung up with Eijiro and went on his way.

* * *

Rui sat with Itsuki as they enjoyed dinner at Kusanagi Diner, a place that was humble and quaint- even as its name held a more divine inspiration- and was home to several traditional Japanese dishes.

As they ate their meals, Rui found that Itsuki- while seemingly a sweet guy- was rather boring. The conversation ran dry and the man only seemed to want to talk about himself and his work, showing no interest in anything Rui might have to say. She wanted to escape the dismal company, but she didn't want to be rude- after all, the man had invited her to dinner to thank her for saving him. It was a first for her and she was happy to accept his offer, but she was beginning to regret that decision more and more as the evening dragged on.

By the time they had finished their dinner and paid for everything- Rui a bit irritated that Itsuki made her pay even though he was the one to invite her- it was well past 9pm and Rui was desperate to get home and away from his company.

"I really must be getting home," she said as politely as she could. "I have a long day scheduled tomorrow."

"Of course, of course."

Rui made to turn away, but Itsuki had stepped closer to her and leaned forward as though he expected a goodbye kiss. "What are you doing?"

Itsuki looked down at her, confused. "I was trying to kiss you goodbye."

"Why?"

"Because we had chemistry in there," Itsuki replied, gesturing back towards the diner.

"'Chemistry'? I hardly think that you could call whatever **_that_** was chemistry."

"I don't understand."

Rui sighed. "Look, Itsuki, you seem like a decent guy, but you really need to get a clue. We don't know each other well enough to even hold hands."

"That's no reason for you to be rude while we're on a date."

Rui was beginning to feel uncomfortable around him, but she kept it together a little bit longer. "I'm the one being rude? You were the one who was more concerned with talking about yourself and your work to even give me a chance to say a word, then you had to audacity to make me pay for dinner when **you** were the one who asked me to dinner."

"Wow, you're a bitch, too?"

"Excuse me?" Rui made to retort, but then she saw the blood drain from Itsuki's face and heard a familiar and surprisingly welcome voice behind her as a warm hand come to rest on her shoulder.

"Watch who you're calling a bitch."

"Y-You again?" Itsuki stepped back, beginning to panic.

Rui looked back to find Katsuki standing just behind her.

"I suggest you get out of here and leave her alone before I beat you to a bloody pulp," Katsuki threatened, his glare deepening.

"W-What are you, her boyfriend?" Itsuki tried to challenge, but when he saw Katsuki raise his hand and saw the sparks beginning to dance in his palm, he balked and took off running.

Rui sighed with relief and looked up at Katsuki. "Thanks."

"Whatever." Katsuki just shrugged off her thanks and started walking away. He stopped a few paces from her and turned back to look at her. "You coming?"

"Where are we going?"

"I'm walking you home in case that creep shows up again. Besides, it's getting late."

"I think you scared him off for good."

"Not taking any chances."

Rui eyed him for a moment, then sighed and caught up to him- falling in step beside him. They walked in silence for quite a while before Rui broke the silence.

"What were you doing there?"

"Where?"

"At the diner."

"I was just passing by when I saw that moron trying to kiss you."

Rui looked up at him, brow raised. "And what, thought I needed rescuing?"

Katsuki glanced at her. "Didn't you?"

"I mean, sure, but what about him trying to kiss me made you think that I needed to be rescued?" Rui waited for a reply, but when none came and she noticed how quickly he averted his gaze, she began to wonder. "Wait, were... were you jealous?"

"Like I have a reason to be jealous." Katsuki stopped and turned towards her as she crossed her arms.

Rui rolled her eyes. "Well from where I'm standing, it almost seems like you can't stand the idea of me being around other guys."

Katsuki rolled his eyes in turn and scoffed at her. "Why would I care? It's your life."

"I'm starting to wonder whether you do care or not," Rui said. "Every time Itsuki showed up, you gave him the death glare and scared him off then proceeded to ignore me more than you were before."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Rui stepped closer to him. "Really? Because you do the same thing with any other guy that I talk to at work except for Gunhead."

"You're just imagining things."

"That's your defense? I'm 'imagining things'?" Rui rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned away from him, sighing. "Why do I even bother...? You're never going to change."

Katsuki's eyes narrowed. "Why does it even matter to you what I think? Why should you care?"

"Because I-" Rui stopped herself, realizing that she was about to blurt out that she was still in love with him. She looked away and readjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. "Nothing, it doesn't matter anyway..."

Katsuki watched as she started to walk away, but he wasn't going to let her get away. "No, what were you going to say?"

Rui tried to ignore him and picked up her pace a bit more. 'I can't believe I almost told him...'

"Don't ignore me."

Rui shot him a glare and dropped a small cup's worth of water onto his head, distracting him long enough to hop onto her water board and hurry off towards the nearby pond.

"I hate it when she does that..!" Katsuki wiped the water from his eyes and looked around, seeing Rui disappear over the treetops nearby.

Rui sighed as she reached the soft dirt path that ran along the perimeter of the pond. She stepped down from her water board, depositing the water back into her bracelets, then walked along the path in hopes that she'd have enough of a moment's peace to collect her thoughts.


	42. Chapter 42

Rui walked around towards the opposite end of the pond and stopped near the large Japanese Snowbell tree that grew there. She sighed and fiddle with one of her bracelets.

'What was I thinking...? He's never going to feel the same way about me...'

She was kicking herself for nearly losing her control over her emotions and blurting out something she was sure to regret later. She reached up to touch the petals of the flowering above in the branches, their smooth surface feeling soft and almost feathery beneath her fingertips.

"What am I going to do...?" she wondered aloud, sighing as she withdrew her hand. She made to turn and head back up the hill, but before she could someone pushed her back against the tree.

"You can stop ignoring me for starters."

Rui looked up, her heart pounding as Katsuki loomed over her. "W-What are you doing?"

"Looking for answers and you're going to give them to me."

Rui looked away and tried to push back from the tree. "Just leave me alone, Katsuki..."

"Not until you tell me what's going on," Katsuki growled, pushing her back and stepping closer. "I'm tired of you running out on me like that, never speaking your mind. I'm tired of being the last one to ever know what's going on with you." When she looked away again and refused to meet his gaze, he reached up and grabbed her chin to force her to look at him as he added, "And I sick and tired of you drenching me in water like that every time you get mad at me!"

Rui winced when he grabbed her chin and she felt a nervousness beginning to churn in her stomach. She didn't know what to say or how to act with him like this; it was a familiar side of him, but there was something else blending in with it all.

"What aren't you telling me, Rui?" Katsuki demanded, seeing defiance and fear mixing together as she met his gaze. When she averted her gaze, he could feel his irritation beginning to boil over as her cheeks started to burn. "Answer me! What aren't you telling me?!"

Rui flinched and before thinking, she shouted back, "That I love you, alright?!"

Katsuki's eyes widened and he let go of her chin, his hand slipping away from where it had been pressed against the tree. "What...?"

"I love you, Katsuki..." Rui felt tears brewing and looked away. "I have since we were kids..." She waited a few moments, trying to gather herself together and to give Katsuki a chance to say something- _**anything**_. When he didn't, she leaned down and grabbed her purse from where it had landed after getting knocked from her shoulder. "This was a mistake... just forget I said anything..." She ducked under his arm and started making her way towards the base of the hill.

Katsuki had been trying to process her admission and when she made to leave, he tried to catch up to her but she summoned her waterboard again and took off- heading in the direction of their homes.

"Damn it!"

* * *

'Why do I always make a fool of myself...?' Rui thought as she fled. She reached her apartment and quickly hurried inside. She kicked off her heels and threw her purse on the table before sinking into a chair. 'I'm such an idiot...!'

Rui sat there for a while, feeling mortified. She had just blurted out that she loved him, to his face, and he said nothing. She hated running away, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed heavily, jumping when a knock came at her door.

She made to stand, but she heard Katsuki calling to her from the other side of the door and she hesitated. He kept trying to get her to come to the door for a few more moments before seemingly giving up.

'What am I going to do...?' she wondered, turning to start brewing some tea in hopes that it would help her relax. She stared absentmindedly as the water filled the kettle, barely noticing when it overflowed. It was only when her phone rang that she was pulled back.

She quickly shut off the water and emptied it out a little bit before setting it on the stove. Pulling out her phone, she saw that it was Mina and sighed with relief.

"Hey, Mina."

_"Hey, Rui, how'd it go tonight?"_

Rui hesitated for a second. "It was... alright, I guess."

_"Just alright? What happened?"_

"So much that it's hard where to begin to tell you."

_"Start from the beginning."_

Rui proceeded to fill her best friend in on everything that had happened since she met up with Itsuki for dinner a few hours prior. Mina was patient as Rui explained what happened and waited for her to finish before saying a single word.

"What am I going to do, Mina?" Rui asked, pouring the hot water into a mug and setting the tea bag inside to steep. "I mean I still have to work with him..."

"I don't know, Rui, I mean you finally told him how you felt. Maybe not in the way you had wanted, but at least he knows now."

"He didn't say a word, though..."

_"But he came after you right? Why didn't you answer the door?"_

"I don't know..." Rui sighed, stirring in some honey and taking her mug over to the table.

_"I think you need to talk to him, but give it some time and try to let him come to you."_

"Things are never going to be the same between us..."

_"That's OK, though. If he feels the same, then you'll be together finally. If not, well at least you have your answer and you can move on."_

"I suppose..."

_"It'll be OK, Rui, one way or another. Just hang in there, alright?"_

"Thanks, Mina."

_"Of course, any time. Let's grab drinks tomorrow, have a girls' night out. Sound good?"_

"Sure, that'd be great."

_"Awesome. I'll talk to you tomorrow, then. Try to get some sleep?"_

"I will. Thanks again, Mina."

_"Sure thing, what are besties for?"_

Rui sat staring at her phone as the call ended, thinking over everything Mina had said. She knew that she was right, but it was going to be hard to be around him. She would have to keep her emotions in check and just act like nothing happened until they could get it all sorted out.

"Why does this have to feel so complicated...?"

* * *

Across the way, Katsuki lay back on his futon and stared at the ceiling- Rui's letter open beside him.

He had tried to go after Rui, but she was too fast, and even using his quirk to get home faster, Rui had already gotten inside of her apartment. He had tried knocking on her door, calling out to her, but no answer came. He knocked and knocked, finally giving up and going home. He kicked himself for not saying anything, for letting her think anything but the truth: that he loved her, too.

Katsuki looked over at Rui's letter, his hand resting on the corner of the worn paper.

'Damn it... I need to fix this...'

He looked at his phone as it sat next to the letter, seeing that it was nearly eleven at night. It was too late to call Eijiro or to call Rui and even if it weren't, he didn't think Rui would even answer the phone.

'Shit...'


	43. Chapter 43

Rui walked into the agency the following morning feeling like crap and went straight to Gunhead's office.

"Ah, good morning Rui! How are you today?"

Rui sighed and shrugged. "I've been better."

"Uh oh, anything you want to talk about?"

Rui shook her head. "Not really, I just need to clear my head. I think I'm going up north a bit to the lake to train unless you need me here?"

Gunhead shook his head. "It looks like it'll be a pretty quiet day today, so you go ahead and if anything does come up, I'll call you."

Rui nodded and offered him a tired smile. "Alright sounds good. I'll check in later."

Gunhead watched as Rui left his office and wondered what was on her mind. 'She rarely goes up to the lake to train anymore.' He would soon have his answer though.

* * *

Katsuki sauntered grumpily into the agency about an hour after Rui had and everyone stayed clear of his path. He looked around the agency for Rui, but no one had seen her so he made his way to where Gunhead was overseeing an early morning training session and waited until he could step away a moment.

When Gunhead noticed Katsuki almost pouting in the doorway of the dojo, he gave his instruction and stepped away. "Katsuki, you're looking especially grumpy this morning."

"Where's Sirona?"

"She's won't be in the office much today," Gunhead said, watching his body language. "She went up north to the lake to train."

Katsuki grumbled a thanks and began to turn away, only stopping when Gunhead added, "You should go up there, too. It's a good area to train with your quirk away from lots of people."

As Katsuki left the dojo and started making his way out of the agency, he knew he needed to find Rui and fix things but how he was going to do that was eluding him. 'What am I even going to say to her...?'

* * *

Rui sat in meditation on one of the large boulders at the edge of the lake. She listened to the sounds of the birds chirping, the occasional frog croaking, the soft chittering of squirrels nearby, the rustling of leaves as the breeze blew through the trees around her.

After over an hour, she finally felt as though she could focus again. Standing, she hopped down from the boulder and went over to her things, stripping down to the bathing suit she had worn beneath her hero costume. Walking to the water's edge, she waded into the lake and welcomed the refreshing cold. When she had gone far enough out, she dove beneath the surface. She swam beneath the cold water, her hand gently sliding over the submerged foliage before she came back up for air and dipped down beneath the surface once more.

A rustle came behind her and she turned to find Katsuki standing at the edge of the lake. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Rui replied, ducking down beneath the surface again.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, following along the water's edge as she swam, and waited for her to resurface. "Don't ignore me," he said when she came up for a breath.

Rui just swam a bit further out. "Just leave it alone, Katsuki."

"Don't make me come in there."

Rui scoffed at that, glancing back at him. "As if you'd really come in after me." She dove under the water and swam around a bit before resurfacing. She looked back at the shore, seeing that Katsuki had disappeared. She sighed, but then she noticed that his things had been discarded where he had been standing a moment before. "He didn't... did he..?"

"Didn't think I would, did you?"

Rui jumped and spun around to find Katsuki advancing towards her slowly, backing her up into a nearby rock. "Is this really how you want to play it?"

Remembering what Mina had told her the night before, Rui tried to keep her composure as best as she could. "J-Just say what you need to say..."

"About last night, I should have said something."

Rui held his gaze, unsure of where this discussion was going to go. "Why didn't you...?"

"You caught me off guard!" Katsuki replied, a bit more harshly than he had intended. Realizing he snapped at her, though, his tone softened again and he rubbed his neck nervously. "What did you expect would happen just blurting out something like that out of nowhere?"

"You wouldn't stop pestering me! Do you really think that's how I wanted to tell you?"

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Katsuki shot back.

"I-" Rui stopped and sighed, shaking her head. "I knew this was a mistake... just forget I ever said anything, alright..?" She used her quirk to push Katsuki back a bit, giving herself enough space to swim away from him and back to the shore. She ignored him as he called to her, quickly slipping back into her hero costume.

"Don't ignore me, Rui," Katsuki said as he followed her. "Would you stop running away?"

"Just leave me alone, Katsuki..!" Rui couldn't focus on talking with him, her mind was too jumbled at the moment, and she hurried off into the woods in hopes of putting distance between them so she could try to think.

"Damn it, Rui!" Katsuki reached the shore and slid back into his clothes, then used his quirk to catch up to her and landed in front of her- catching her off guard. "We're not done."

"Yes, Katsuki, we are," Rui retorted, growing irritated with his persistence. "Now move or I'll make you move."

"I'd like to see you try," he replied, advancing towards her. "Why are you being so damn stubborn?"

"Why do you care so damn much?" Rui asked, not backing down.

"Because you won't let me say a damn thing!" Katsuki retorted, quickly closing the distance between them.

"Actions speak louder than words and your silence said plenty, so what more could there be to talk about?"

"To hell with it," Katsuki said, grabbing Rui's waist with one hand while the other brought her face to his. He pressed his lips to hers, silencing her as she tried to protest. When he pulled away and looked down at her, her cheeks were as bright as cherries and she was speechless. He smirked and leaned down to kiss her again, this time lingering a while longer.


	44. Chapter 44

Later that evening, Mina noticed that Rui seemed really out of sorts as she stared absentmindedly at her drink.

"What's going on, Rui?"

Rui jumped a bit when Mina touched her shoulder and offered her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"It must be pretty intense to have you this lost in thought." Mina noticed her cheeks turning a brilliant shade of pink. "Something juicy it would seem, too. Alright, spill!"

Rui looked back down at her drink, taking the small straw and stirring the golden alcohol. "Katsuki, he um..."

"He what? Did he come talk to you?"

"Yes?"

"'Yes?' What happened?"

Rui felt her heart racing as she thought back on what happened in the forest. She had not been expecting him to kiss her like that, nor was she prepared for the longing and urgency behind it. The more she thought about it, the more she blushed.

"What do I do, Mina?"

"What do you?" Mina leaned back in her seat, eyeing Rui. "Isn't this what you wanted? HE came to talk to you. HE ran after you when you tried to leave. HE kissed you. TWICE."

"I know..."

"So what's your reservation?"

Rui sighed. "I don't know, this isn't how I imagine it would happen, so I guess I'm just thrown for a loop?"

"Alright, let me ask you this, then," Mina said, taking a drink. "You guys kissed, you know how the other feels, right?"

Rui nodded.

"OK, so then what do you want to happen now? Clearly, you can't avoid this anymore."

"I know..." Rui sighed. "I want to be with him, I do, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"It was such a spur of the moment thing, I guess I'm just worried that it won't be more than that."

"Rui, girl, you worry too much." Mina shook her head and leaned forward, draping her arm around Rui's shoulder. "You should talk to him, figure out where you should go from here." Mina glanced down at Rui's phone as it began to vibrate. "And here's your chance."

As Mina sat back in her seat again, Rui looked at her phone and saw that it was Katsuki calling her.

"Katsuki?"

_"Hey."_

"Hey, is everything alright?"

_"Yeah, I was just wondering when you're going to be done hanging out with Pinky. I was hoping we could have a chance to talk tonight, about earlier?"_

"Oh, um, sure." Rui glanced at Mina. "We're just having a few drinks, I can call you when we're done?"

_"OK, talk to you later then."_

"OK, bye."

Rui looked at Mina. "He wants to talk."

"Oh?"

"About earlier."

"See? It's not all bad, is it? At least he cares enough to wanna talk about what happened, right?"

"That's true."

"So you're going to meet him after drinks?"

Rui nodded. "Yeah,"

"You should just go now."

"Now?"

Mina shrugged and grinned at her. "Yeah, why not? You've been worrying so much about it today and now's your chance to put those worries to rest."

"But we haven't had a girls' night in a while," Rui said, protesting.

"We can just reschedule, girl, don't worry about it," Mina grinned. "This is way more important right now. We can hang out whenever, I mean it's not every day that your crush reciprocates your feelings for them."

"Are you sure?"

Mina nodded and hugged her before shooing her off. "Go, Rui, it's fine. Call me tomorrow and fill me in then?"

Rui returned her hug and smiled. "Of course. You're the best friend I could have ever asked for, you know that right?"

"I know, now go!"

Rui slid out of her seat, set down some money for her drinks, gave Mina a wave, then redialed Katsuki's number.

_"That was quick."_

"Yeah, I guess. Did you want to meet somewhere to talk?"

_"Where are you now?"_

"Just left the bar. I'm like five minutes from home."

_"Wanna just come over to my place?"_

"S-Sure, that'd be fine."

_"Unit 3B."_

"OK, see you soon then?"

_"Yeah, see you soon. Stay safe."_

"I will."

Rui found herself a jumbled mess of excitement and worry as she made her way home from the bar. The night air was welcoming and calming, helping her to really focus. Before long, she was at Katsuki's door and found herself hesitating as she reached up to knock.

'Why am I hesitating..?

The door opened and Katsuki stood in the doorway, looking down at her. "You going to come in or stand there looking like an idiot?"

"S-Sorry."

Rui stepped inside Katsuki's apartment, standing aside as he closed the door and locked it. 'Why do I feel so awkward? Is it just because I've never been to Katsuki's apartment before?'

Rui looked around, seeing that Katsuki had a very minimalistic, monochromatic studio apartment with a bathroom. In the small kitchen area, there was a table with two chairs and a small cooking area, and in the studio, he had a couch that pulled out into a futon and a small tv.

"I'm gonna make a drink, you want some? Or would you rather have some tea since you had drinks with Pinky?"

Rui looked at him and found herself blushing a bit. "S-Sure, a drink would be nice."

"You can set your stuff anywhere," Katsuki added as he pulled down a couple of glasses from the cupboard.

Rui set her jacket and purse on one of the chairs, looking up when Katsuki presented her with a drink. "T-Thanks."

"Why don't we sit?"

Rui nodded and followed him over to the couch, sitting down at one end while Katsuki sat at the other. They sat there in silence for a few moments, Katsuki leaning against the couch and eyeing her over his drink as Rui fiddled with her glass.

"You OK?"

Rui nodded and took a sip of the drink. "Mmm... that's yummy, what is it?"

Katsuki looked at the golden brown liquid. "It's a spiced imo shochu that Kirishima gave me."

As Katsuki took another sip of his drink, Rui sighed. "So you wanted to talk?"

Katsuki eyed her a moment, seeing how nervous she looked. "Yeah, thought it'd be a good idea."

"W-What about?"

Katsuki smirked when she blushed a bit, seeing a deep blush wash over the one she already had from the alcohol in her system.

Rui noticed his smirk and felt her blush deepen and spread. "W-What's that look for?"

"I forget how cute you look when you're flustered."

"Meanie, don't tease." Rui took a big sip of shochu.

"About earlier..." Katsuki started.

"Mhmm?"

"I'm sorry if I caught you off guard or overstepped at all."

Rui looked at him with surprise. "No, not all." She blushed when she realized how quickly she had answered and looked away. "It was... nice..."

"Real convincing, Rui," Katsuki rolled his eyes and took another sip.

"Sorry, it's just..." Rui sighed. "I just didn't think things would happen like this, that's all."

"What were you expecting would happen?"

"I don't know, I thought maybe I would have more time, that I could plan things out or something..." Rui tapped the side of the glass lightly. "I should have told you a long time ago, it just... never seemed like the right time..." Rui looked up as Katsuki set his glass down and reached for his wallet, pulling out a worn piece of paper. "Katsuki?"

"You did tell me, Rui, I just never found a way to respond properly."

Rui set her glass down and opened the worn paper carefully, her eyes widening with surprise when she saw what it was. "You... kept this..?"

Katsuki sat back down, taking another sip of his shochu. "I kept it as a reminder of the mistakes I made that night, all the missed opportunities." He swirled the golden liquid in his glass. "I kept it as a reminder of you."

Rui touched the worn letter, a soft smile growing. But it faded just for a moment when her next question came to mind. "Why?"

Katsuki sighed. "You've always meant a great deal to me, Rui, so why wouldn't I?" He took another sip. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to admit it."

"So that last night... before my mom died..." Rui began, pausing to take another sip.

"Yeah... I was going to kiss you, beg you to stay," Katsuki sighed. "I'm glad you stopped me, but it didn't change the fact that I was being a selfish prick."

Rui chuckled at that. "It was rather poor timing."

"After that, I wasn't sure what to say to you or if you'd even listen or let me near you. Then I found you passed out in the cemetery and took you home."

"And you had brought me flowers, hydrangeas for an apology and violets for showing your sincerity."

"Yeah, I had to ask Old Man Ishikawa about that."

"Mr. Ishikawa is really good with that sort of thing," Rui replied, her smile growing.

"I did mean it, though," Katsuki continued. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did that night, I shouldn't have said the things I did. Not with your mom dying in the hospital. You had enough to worry about already, I just added to."

"It's alright, Katsuki," Rui said. "It's in the past now, all we can really do is move forward from it." She folded the letter back up and handed it to Katsuki. "Thank you for showing me this."

"I guess I don't really need to hold onto this anymore," Katsuki said, looking at the letter.

"Why's that?"

"Cuz I've got you now."

Rui looked at him, surprised.

"Sorry, that was pretty cheesy, wasn't it?"

Rui smiled. "Maybe a bit."

They finished their drinks and Katsuki stood, taking both of their glasses. "I'm gonna grab another one, you want one too?"

Rui's smile grew. "Sure."


End file.
